Truth and Lies
by The Pouting Horse
Summary: When Soul, Maka, Tsubaki and Black Star go to a party, Maka had no idea what would happen, getting drugged by a mystery man and sleeping with one of her closest friends perhaps?
1. The Deal

"It's over Maka, I can't do this anymore"

"Soul you don't understand! Someone had spiked my drink I wasn't myself you could see that!"

"I don't know what I see anymore, Maka. I'm sorry, but after what you did, we're through for good"

"Soul..."

_Four weeks earlier..._

**Chapter 1- The deal**

"_Merci et a bientot!" _ A boy with a sweet voice sang to Maka

"Il n'y a pas de quoi, et adieu Mathias!" Maka replied back to the young man on the receiving end of the phone.

Maka placed the phone graciously on the phone's hub when Soul opened his door and walked mockingly out of his room. "Will you shut up with your french already, it's giving me a migraine with you're saying Maka"

"Kishins aren't the only thing I'm interested in learning about Soul, and for the last time will you PLEASE put on a shirt!" Maka shouted at her partner

Maka always hated it when Soul didn't have anything to cover his deep cut scar with around her, it reminded her constantly of the pain and suffering he went through. it reminded her of just how weak and vulnerable she was back then. She could barely look at him for a week after the Demon Sword punctured his skin.

"Ugh you sound like my mum, get over yourself already Maka! This is my home too and I can parade about in whatever I want whenever I want." Soul defensively replied back to his Meister. "Besides, who's this Mathias you keep talking to, huh? Do I even know him?"

"He's just a friend who has been teaching me French- Mama lives in France now with her new husband so I wanted to learn the language when I visited her one day, that's all" Maka snapped back at Soul, as if she had something to hide from him. "I don't like the sound of it Maka, you've never met the guy and for all we know, he could be a creep from the Moulin Rouge. As your weapon and your best friend, I don't advise you to keep talking to this person. Anyways, why don't you ask me to teach you?" Soul suggested, a slight grin that made his dagger teeth emerge from his mouth. "It would be... intellectual"

"Soul" Maka replied back to him as she leant to the side of the door, her arms crossed, a slight childish grin on her face to match her childish pigtails. "Since when did you learn French?"

"It's something I don't like to brag about, Maka. My dad forced me to attend private French lessons when i was a child in the summer holidays. It got me an A* at GCSE when I was 11, but that's as far as I would ever go with it... Then how about it huh? I teach you French, and you teach me on how to become a better Death Scythe than your crazy dad?"

It was a deal. The perfect deal that Maka knew she could never escape from. She loved to learn French, it was the only thing she felt good about learning besides all of her studies at the DWMA. She knew that with Soul's help she could pass some sort of course, even with his excellent, but meanor GCSE grade. She would train harder with him and defeat the 98 more Kishin souls she had to and the witches soul too. She was after Erika, one of the late Lady Medusa's puppets, enthralled with hundreds of snakes circulating and punishing her body and soul. "Right, it's a deal Soul." A grin recommenced on his pale face, making his crimson eyes squint a little. Their hands clasped together as the vow was now official.


	2. Another Day at the DWMA

**Chapter 2 - Another day at the DWMA**

"Black Star! You'll kill yourself if you do that anymore, you're going to high, what if you trip and fall?" Tsubaki pleaded with her Meister to prevent him from climbing the peak of the DWMA which below lead to a deep pit of blood red Kishin tears. "You think that the almighty Black Star will subcome to a pool birthed from some Kishin baby's crying their eyes out?! I am the man who will surpass god once and for all! This will be my final test to show how amazing and undefeatable I really am! You've got another thing coming Tsubaki if you think I won't do this. Yahoo!" and with that, Black Star jumped from a turret off of the Death Weapon Meister Academy and sprung into a perfect divers position, so streamlined that it made an Olympic gold medallist look like an ameture.

There was no doubt that Black Star was a perfectionist at 99% of things that were even possible. His only downfall was his blasted mouth that sprung a leak ever 2 seconds, complimenting himself and dis complementing others.

He almost reached the end of no return, for he knew that he most likely would not survive this, but he didn't want to believe it. But a flash of black soaring through the air had stopped him from unaware suicide. "You absolute buffoon! Do you not know of the danger you have just put yourself in!" Death the Kid had come to Black Stars rescue on his faithful skateboard Beelzebub, gripping the over confident Meister by the skin of his neck, lowering him to the ground. "My father created that pit to trap all of the Kishin tears into it, one touch and you would have your body and soul drained out in an instant. You wouldn't even have time to blink and you'd be dead. You're lucky I'm not telling my father who would strip you from your education here at the Academy." Kid frowned slightly as for once, Black Star was speechless. "Look what you've done to Tsubaki. Look at the state she is in!" Kid ordered to Black Star.

It was true, Tsubaki was in a state. Black Star began to examine her in the most gentle way. Her soft pale hands covered her flawless milky complexion as she shrugged up and down with the minute sound of crying from her oesophagus. She did not know that Black Star was captured by Kid, she thought it was all over and had to find another Meister. Black Star felt terrible; his throat felt as if there was a weird lump pulverising it as her saw her pouring tears from her delicate sapphires. He soon managed to set aside that gesture. "Tsubaki it's okay I'm alive!" Black Star ran and shouted in her face "I told you I'd surpass God and I did it!".

Tsubaki wasn't amused and when she removed her hand from her face, her under eyes burned red raw. "Just what on EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING SCARING ME LIKE THAT?! Oh Black Star don't ever do that again you had me worried so much!" She grappled him by the shoulders and led him tightly into a hug. Black Star felt that feeling in his throat again the moment she touched him. He gently wrapped one hand around her waist and began to sooth her fear. "It's okay Tsubaki, the fearless Black Star will never die, that was my final test, and I passed it" Black Star lied with a visage of an over proud smile. A bead of sweat poured down his head; if it weren't for Kid, he would be dead and would never be able to see Tsubaki - his committed friend and weapon - again. He could never tell her a skinny Grim Reaper saved him - he would never be able to face her again. He needed to be the strongest he could be.


	3. Fatality

_Authors Note: As some people may question the length of the first two chapters i've put up - it's going to have 10 prologue chapters that go up to the scene from the first chapter where Soul breaks up with Maka. Then they'll be a whole lot lengthier. Enjoy and I hope it meets your standards._

**Chapter 3- Fatality**

"Hey Tsubaki, hey Black Star" Maka cheerfully said to them as they met up at the DWMA outside the building, Soul at her side. Tsubaki was still red under the eyes but finished crying as she and Black Star parted from their hug. "Tsubaki, what's wrong?" Soul questioned the Dark arm as she wiped her smooth arm across her face to wipe away the mucus running from her nostrils. "Oh it's nothing really" She smiled back at Soul, trying to hide her fear. "Black Star just got me super worried, that's all".

"Yeah and if it weren't for me, he'd be dead" Death the Kid butted in. He was right of course, he did save the ignorant assassin's life, but as proud as Black Star was he didn't even think about apologising, nor would he ever. Kid understood this of course, he'd been on many a mission with him, hunting the souls or Kishins, aiding Maka to defeat Asura. He knew his strengths and most of his weaknesses. All except one. One that Black Star would never reveal. One that was right under their noses, yet his friends were too idle to even notice a slight hint of it. If anyone ever found out, Black Star assumed he would be filled with remorse. He couldn't let anyone know, no, he was too proud. "Haven't I told you already Kid?" Black Star jokingly slapped the back of Kid's back with great force, making the skinny Grim Reaper jolt and move slightly, his perfect 180 degree posture out of it's angle. "I will never die, I've surpassed God. There's no way now"

"You really know when to big yourself up don't you?" Kid replied back in a sarcastic manner. His back had been really affected by Black Star's powerful knuckles, penetrating the back of his spine, making Kid hunch slightly. "Don't make a fool of yourself next time, or I might not be there to save you" Death the Kid warned, with a glare so ferocious that it stabbed right through Black Star's turquoise eyes. "Anyways, is there a new mission up on the board? Me and Maka haven't been out in a while and could really do with hunting some Kishin souls" Soul interrupted. For some unknown reason, he'd always liked the way that he and Maka's names were together in a sentence, probably due to them being a label for the most powerful young Meister/ Weapon duo in the academy. He liked to show off Maka, even though most of the time she would blush a dusty rose pink and try to walk away...

"_Maka, you see these people? They're here for you? You did it. Without me, all by yourself you defeated the most powerful Kishin ever. You showed him that even though you were weaker than him and I wasn't there to help you, you still did it. I'm so proud of you" Soul said to Maka as he lifted her into the air by her slender waist and hugged her tight. He never knew what it was like to have a sister, or a girl that was close to him, so she was the best that he had. Naturally. But when he lowered her down, their eyes locked into each others and for the most minute time in all of time and space, he felt his heart beat fast. Faster than what he could ever remember. Faster than after he won at a track 200m event. What was he feeling? A sudden rush of an unknown feeling travelled to his stomach. It wasn't a horrible feeling. It was soft, soothing, but fast. He pierced into her green eyes for as long as he could, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Then he had to blink. His time was over. He could see Maka burning a dusty rose colour on her cheeks. "Soul, a nice little party would've been better. There are too many people, and um... please put me down" She smiled warmly at him and he gently put on on the ground..._

"Soul? Soul? SOUL?!" Maka shook her partner with an almighty force. He felt electrified. She managed to get his attention as he snapped out of his daze. "Huh, sorry Maka, what's the matter?" He asked her as they all went to the notice board to see if there were any new missions. "Well there's a new mission - just one though. Let's see here" Maka took it off the mission board and Black Star creeped over her shoulder to see the mission. "It's rude to read over people's shoulders Black Star!" and with that, Maka hit him head first with her book.

"Maka you idiot that's a thick book you thick idiot!" Soul lunged for her hair, but Soul got in the way, his arm transformed into a scythe, angled flat so it would not slice Black Star into two. "Don't you dare touch my Ma.. Meister" Soul defensively corrected himself as he pushed Black Star away. "WELL THEN SHE SHOULDN'T HIT ME WITH A BOOK!" Black Star screamed back, spit flying in all directions. "Well she's a girl she wouldn't know any different!". That was it. Maka's eye squinted as she lashed out at him "ARE YOU CALLING ME THICK HOW COULD YOU SOUL?!" She shouted in his face before tears emerge from her emerald eyes. "Maka..." Soul pleaded, a soft apologetic tone sang from his voice.

"I can't believe you would say that about me" she sniffled, wiping her tear stained ivory cheeks.

"Maka, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that. You are always thinking head first - literally. that's why i said it" Soul gave a weak monotone laugh to try and raise the camaraderie in the hallway. She looked up at him and smiled.

That did it. That was all it took for the requited, yet unknown feeling. She stared absentmindedly into his blood red eyes, a rush sprinted to her stomach in an instant. She felt as if a bolt of energy had been conducted into her slim delicate body, her knees feeling weak. What was she feeling? She didn't understand. She blinked at him and her peridot eyes quickly escaped from his. "It's okay Soul. I guess I overreacted yet again" she giggled.

"Well anyways, Maka, what's this new mission? Who do we have to defeat now?" Soul questioned to his partner.

"Let's see here" Maka slowly began to read, taking in every detail as she used to, whilst Soul and Tsubaki were behind her, having a game of 'Rock Paper Scythe' to see who would win. Alas, Tsubaki the Dark Arm was defeated and Black Star glared at Soul. "Well Soul, there's an enchantress gone Kishin who seduces men into cheating on their partners with her illusions and sorceress powers" Maka declared, her voice strong and proud.

"Well let's go then" Soul replied, as he left his and Maka's mark on the paper and replaced it on the mission board.


	4. The first battle

**Chapter 4- the first battle**

Staring at a crippled, degraded and ancient looking monastery brimmed to the top with decaying moss, ivy and thick spider's webs, Maka and Soul stood proudly before it, waiting to take on their next victim. "You ready for this Maka?" Soul asked his Meister as her gave her a chilling smile, his sharp dagger-like teeth a blaze against the moonlight. Maka's eyes gave in as she saw his smile. '_no Maka, you have to concentrate'_ she thought to herself as she shook off that unknown feeling again. They walked up to the rotting door, pushed it slightly and even at her soft touch the door violently fell over. Soul stared at the corroded hinges, covered in orange rush, oxidised over the years. Then they both looked at the interior of this monstrosity.

It was grand, around 17th century french renaissance, with golden framed furniture and paintings, ox-blood red velvet carpets and curtains and ivory statues of Greek gods and goddesses. It was the most beautiful thing that Maka had ever set her eyes on, it was her dream home, just like the way she told Papa she would decorate her house. She so longed to go to France, and with the help of Soul, she could buy her desired pieces without looking like a fool speaking english. "Lets go, Maka. We're here to hunt the enchantress, not to look in a 4d 'Harvey's' catalogue" Soul prompted to her and tugged at her arm.

The trek was arduous and tiring, straining their legs to not touch anything that could cause a havoc. They felt as if they'd been walking for an hour. "Soul let's stop for five minutes, my ankles are hurting" Maka complained as she looked up at him, his back hunched with his right hand trying to support it. They both had to hunch down to get through this tunnel that went on for God knows how long, and with Soul's back pains he'd been complaining about ever since the Demon Sword had attacked him, it disfigured one of the bones connecting to his spine, creating discomfort and pain if he were to heavy lift or crouch for a long period of time. He slid down against a wall, his back hard against it, trying to replace the distorted bone, one leg lying flat on the floor, the other bend at an angle to support his back. "Maka, your ankles are too fat to walk for a long time on, that's why" Soul chuckled and gave her a demonic grin. "Soul this is no time to make fun of me, you can do that another day, but now..." Maka stood up and placed both of her hands on her lower back and stretched her spine forwards, her chest lunged forward. "...now we've got a soul to get". Soul stood up to, he shrugged his arms and brushed off the dust from his back and shoulders. "Then let's get going" he replied back in a serious tone.

As they walked, about a minute or two had gone and the trail of dimly lit candles had disappeared when they heard a slight angelic noise further on. Maka got out her torch and a bright beam of white light flashed onwards to where the sound was coming from. The Meister and her weapon continued on as the sound of the angel increased in volume. It was a sweet ringing sensation to Soul's ears whilst to Maka's it was the screech of a Banshee, prowling an eerie village just before someone dies. It made her ear drums burst whilst on the other hand, it was Spanish Opera to Soul, her voice was something that only the most beautiful of Angels could ever birth from their voice. They reached the door to where the juxtaposed sound was being directed from. A chant could be heard very clearly as the enchantress projected her voice loud and clear. "Si pereo, nemo superesse. Si pereo, nemo superesse. Si pereo, nemo superesse". Maka creaked the door open and turned to Soul. "Ready Soul?"

"Ready before the mission started, Maka" Soul replied back, gazing once again into her emeralds for a split second, the lung reappearing in his throat.

A black cloaked woman stood there, repeating the same latin phrase over and over again. She cuddled herself into the middle of a sacrificial looking room, the Anti-Christ cross and the star of the Occult painted groggily all over the walls with what seemed to be animal blood. The smell of rotting flesh overwhelmed Maka as she scanned the Satanic room and found pig carcasses scattered around the edges, each one covered in a blanket of flies and maggots. She was about to be sick when Soul shook her and ordered her to not look at them. "Maka they'd only make you sick, think..." Soul was cut off when the hooded figure looked up and pale white irises stared back at them. The woman stood up and took off her cloak, when Soul saw a beautiful slim figure, with a nicely filled out front, honey coloured curly locks and a flawless visage. Maka saw the very opposite. She was a demonic looking woman with black greasy hair, warts all over her face and a degraded body, bugs of all kinds scurrying along her fleshy bones. "Salve qui nunc hic sumus?" The enchantress asked them, not one of them knowing what she was on about. She began clapping her hands and jumping about on the spot, her neck twisting in all directions "Amici! Ego habent amicos" the demonic woman screeched as her eyes began to roll backwards, veins showing in the whites. Soul merely heard her singing and dancing as gracious ballet recital, her hair whistling in the room, a warm feeling came into him as he felt drawn to this beautiful Angel. "Maka, are you seeing what I am? I think I'm in love" he said without even looking at Maka.

"What?!" Maka questioned her deranged partner, her heart felt a sudden sharp stab for reasons she couldn't fully explain. How could Soul be in love with someone who looked like her. She figured it out. "Soul it's not the real her! You're being bewitched by her spell. She's trying to seduce you and take your soul!" Maka shouted at him.

"I don't understand what you're saying Maka, and there's no way I'm bewitched; she's perfect" Soul said as he stared directly back at her. The enchantress began to move closer to them, limping all over the place giggling to herself, speaking in the same tongue as she had done before. It was obvious this woman was a lunatic. But a powerful one at the least. Soul was strong so how could he be weak at this moment? How could he be under her spell. "Soul Eater Evans" the Kishin woman said, this time she was speaking English, a familiar tone which they felt more confident with. Soul saw her milky skin shed a tear: Maka saw a hag crying blood. "Why do you stay with her Soul? Look at her: she is nothing compared to me" The goddess sang to him, walking closer to them. "I can make you happier, I can love you. I will never shout at you, I will never hit you with a book, I will never say I don't lov..." And with that Maka forced herself as the crippled old Kishin and punched her with all her might, red blood spraying out of her mouth, landing in Maka's hair and ivory skin. "Maka what are you doing?!" Soul said as he grabbed her off the Angel in disguise. "Don't you touch her!" he warned Maka, his eyes squinting as he gave her a glare of death. It was over: the Kishin had won him over. There was nothing she could do... unless...

Still grabbing her shoulders his lips spread apart glaring his teeth at her, Maka lunged forward and headbutted her weapon to snap his out of it. His cranium was like metal, could it be from being a Scythe that it made his bones even harder than they originally were? Soul collapsed to the floor and a red mark appeared. She had to defeat the Kishin one way or another. Running at her with full speed, Maka kicked her in the stomach, more blood spewing out of her scurvied mouth. But now it was the enchantresses' turn: she waved her hand in a pathetic manner, and Maka could feel a crunching sound in her ankle. This Kishin had the power to possess someone's body, let alone their mind. "AAAHH!" Maka screamed out and limped away from the Kishin, as she dragged her body to Souls side to try and get him up, she could see the enchantress hopping over to her. "Come on Soul wake up" Maka shook him and began to lightly slap his face in order for him to gain consciousness of his surroundings. His dark iridescent irises began to reappear as he moved his head up and saw Maka's snapped ankle. "Oh my God! Maka your ankle!" He swiftly got up, shook his head and lifted her from the ground. His black jacket was ripped and his snowy hair was covered in soot and blood. "Maka you can't go on like this we need to get you out of here!"

"No Soul. We.. we have to defeat her and take her Soul. She let go of his grasp around her back and positioned herself standing, her broken ankle dangling in the air, trying not to put pressure on it. "Transform into your weapon form Soul. Now" she ordered her partner, and without a moments hesitation he replied "On it Maka" as the boy with the blood red eyes turned into his Scythe form, a beautiful yet dangerous weapon with a passion to kill Kishins and eat their souls. "Let's go" they shouted in unison as Maka subconsciously ran towards the enchantress, eliminating the pain from her broken bones as she did before with her meeting with Asura. She still did not know of how those blades were around her, or of how she wiped out the pain.

'_One blow to the torso is all it needs Maka' _she thought to herself. Running as fast as she could she rotated her slim figure, her arms propelled back ready to slice this wicked hag into two. Alas, her ankle had let her down as she fell to the floor. Screaming in pain, begging for death, Maka felt weak and defenseless as the Kishin woman came towards her, bugs crawling out from the sides of her pulverised cheeks. She jumped into the air and came soaring down in Maka and Soul's position. Before she could reach them Soul transformed back into a human and one of his arms back into his weapon, turned on the spot and as she approached them, she enchantress felt a thick burning slice puncture her filthy skin. Soul had sliced her in the heart. Blood pouring out of her as she was stuck in mid air in this boy's arm. "You disgust me you know, I fell for your pathetic tricks, but..." he said to the Kishin, projecting his voice in an arrogant way "I was just too good for you. You're nothing but another soul for me to take." And with that, the enchantress gone Kishin had corroded away into black sand, sinking to the cracks in the weedy floor.

The soul was a brilliant strawberry red, but not taking much notice in it's appearance Soul grabbed it and forced it down his throat, his sharp dagger teeth savouring every part of it, as he licked them to get the taste into his saliva. "That was delicious, huh Maka? Maka?" he swooned around and saw Maka lying unconscious on the floor, her leg shattered and violently pouring her blood into a messy puddle. Needless to say at that very moment the weapon scooped up his Meister in the bridal position and ran with her for their lives as the monastery couldn't take any more of the damage it had and came crashing down bit by bit.

It was too close to call, but by some miracle Soul had made it out with Maka, both covered in blood and dust. He sent an S.O.S and an air ambulance to come and collect them both, Spirit on the receiving end of the phone shouting down it saying it was Soul's fault that she's been injured. _"If I ever get my fucking hands on you Soul Evans you will rue the day you were..." _

"_That's enough Spirit!" a loud crash could be heard and Maka's father was moaning in the background. It was obvious Lord Death used the Reaper Chopper on him, he usually did._

Soul examined Maka as he patiently waited for their aid. She needed to have the blood clotted in her ankle desperately. Remembering in first aid lessons, Soul took off his shirt, tore it in half horizontally, made a cloth bandage around it and applied pressure onto her deep wound. She looked so peaceful when she was like that, her delicate eyes closed, her hair out of her childish pigtails, falling to her slim shoulders and her mouth slightly perched open. He had once again felt that weird rush that came to his stomach. He was almost certain of what it could be. He just didn't want to admit it. He went to her head, sat on the floor and lifted her up gently so that her back was against his chest, her head nuzzled in his bruised shoulder. She was warm against him in the freezing cold. It felt good considering he only had half a t-shirt in the situation. He looked down and examined her again. She had thick brown eyelashes perfectly divided, circumferencing her eyelid rims, flawless ivory skin that he never even noticed how healthy it looks and dusty rose coloured lips, just like the colour that stained her cheeks whenever she blushed.

His heart began to pound again. He knew what what was the matter with him. He tilted her head up slowly by her chin, her lips still parted and moved his head down. He move closer to her lips, just millimeters away when the distant sound of a chopper appeared, the propellers guiding the direction of the wind as the leaves brushed past their faces that nestled on the ground. He quickly moved his head away, almost giving himself whiplash when the helicopter came storming down to the open space in front the destroyed monastery... with Maka's dad gripping onto one of the holders.

"Soul!" Spirit screamed as he ran to Soul's position, but before he could reach him to attack him, he stared at Maka. "My beautiful Maka... look at you..." He fell to his knees and examined her broken ankle, the ripped T-shirt clotting the wound that would have drained her entire body's supply of blood from. "Thankyou Soul. You used your initiative and saved my little princess... But she wasn't awake when you took your shirt off right? I would have to slice you in two for that."

"No sir" Soul said in a formal manner, no sense of jokiness anywhere. He'd always had a weird relationship with his Meister's father. The majority of the time it would be about him being with Maka so much, he wondered if there was anything going on between them romantically. But as always, he would reply with a sharp _"no"_ then Spirit would shout at him and question why he wouldn't make his move on his daughter. The event was always cyclical, repetitive in Soul's eyes. In Spirit it was just another way to get more information about Maka since she would hardly ever see her Papa after the divorce.

"Come on then, let's get her home." Soul said as he was about to pick her up again, Spirit grabbed his daughter in the bridal position and snapped back at him "I'll take her" with a death-like glare in his eyes. There was something not right about Spirit today. Had he seen what Soul almost did to Maka before they could be heard. "Come on, we better get you cleaned up, judging by those wounds I saw in your battle with the Kishin, they're deeper than you think they are" commanded Azusa Yumi, the Death Scythe with an uncanny eye. Soul didn't even know he had any wounds. He examined his arms and hands, deep wounds poured blood that trickled down his forearms into the creases of his wenis and elbow socket. He grabbed out Azusa's stretched hand and they got on the metal flacon and left the hallowed ground...


	5. The truth

**Chapter 5- The truth**

Maka awoke in a familiar looking room, but not in the way she wanted to. Stretching her neck up she searched around the room and found someone sleeping on the chair next to her. Soul was snoozing away in what seemed an uncomfortable chair, his messy blood splattered hair in all directions, his black jacket torn at the sides. He had bandages wrapped around his wounds on his hands and several thick stitches going up his arms, visible to where his garment had torn. Moving herself around she heard something click.

Then she felt the pain. Oh how she couldn't resist it. It was excruciating, as if someone had put a thousand knives and a thousand pins into her leg all at once, repeating the process over an over. Like invisible chains bonding her to her white linen domain. Her eyes watered and she howled like there was no tomorrow. Yet she still had no idea how she got in the situation she was in. She could see Soul waking up, probably from her yelling of distress. She remembered him putting her on the ground, protecting her and then slicing the Kishin into two. That was all she could remember, for her memories of that day had been vividly erased after she blacked out. It seemed like only a few seconds ago that she was in the crippled monastery hunting the enchantress, and now to this: imprisoned by a hospital bed in a hospital wing.

"Maka, you're awake" Soul said in a soothing voice, a smile drew on his face as he saw her in a better state, his eyes were gentle and burning rubies. But underneath Maka could see dark purple circles orbiting the top of his cheeks. "Soul how long have you been awake? You look terrible" she asked, without even thinking about being sentimental. "You can talk, look at your ankle! I've never seen anything like it. For the question, a while I guess, I stayed up all morning with your dad watching over you whilst you were recovering in your sleep" He replied back to her. "You know, Maka..." Soul reached closer to her face, moving in the direction of her ear, his nose curtained by her soft but dirty hair "...you look like a baby when you sleep, all cuddled up like that". Maka could feel herself cringing at the thought of not only her papa, but Soul watching over her as she tossed about in her bed. Her cheeks were painted with the dusty rose colour as she stared at him. His garnets were like a nebula, glistening and glowing a beautiful red. Her stomach ached and wasn't sure whether it was from this strange recurring feeling or the effect the pills had on her empty stomach. She looked up at him again. The feeling of something fluttering aroused in her stomach. She knew what it was. She knew it had nothing to do with the pills either. Did she even have any pills? Who knows. She knew she didn't want to admit the feeling though.

It was obvious to Soul about his feeling in his throat and stomach, though: his cheeks flared up and his eyes got wider whenever he saw her. He'd put on a sweet smile when she was looking at him. It was true about what he felt, yet he didn't know if it was requited or not. He needed an answer though. Fast. Ox was told by Hiro who was old by some three star Meister that his friend would be hosting a party a couple of weeks or so later and they were all invited, courtesy of Black Star winning a bet to get them entrance to it. Left the loser with a few broken bones, but nothing too serious or he'd be kicked out of the DWMA. Since Asura had been wrapped back into his own skin by Lord Death, the rules got more strict on fighting and battles. Naturally Black Star felt cheated on by this and was only allowed to break bones as the most extreme part of a fight.

"_What do you mean I can only break 3 bones per fight? The great Black Star shouldn't be controlled by rules. Besides, I can't control how much damage I give to someone. One punch and it's all over for them... I remember this one time in kindergarten where I grabbed this boy by the p..."_

"_Yes thank you Black Star for...your interesting story. But we've got resonance classes to do, not to hear a five hour story from you" Stein said in a bland tone, a cigarette in his mouth, the carcinogenic ashes falling onto the ground, burning the grass they stood on, the golden embers fading into charcoal black._

"Maka?" Soul asked his Meister, his voice elongated at the sound when producing her name. She looked up, her emeralds piercing his rubies. "Yeah Soul, what's up?" She said, a creaky tone in her voice. Her mouth was dry. She stretched out her bruised arm, tattooed with purple splashes that a toddler could have done and shakily grabbed a glass jug and poured herself some ice water, her arm shaking from all of the drips connected to her veins in the crease of her left elbow. "Maka, there's something I need to tell you" Soul finally replied, his head looking down to the floor, his cheeks blushing. "Sure, was it about the fight with the Kishin? What happened to me after I blacked out? What is it?" a chipper look was painted on her face, her skin colour warming up to the colour of ivory cream. "I.. I think it would be better if I showed you Maka". Soul hesitated for a second, then moved closer to her, and proceeded to get in contact with her face. Maka's heart was beating unusually fast; Soul's too. Did he have the same feeling she had, prowling around in her stomach, sending her in imaginative circles. She closed her eyes as he got closer to her.

A door slammed open and Black Star, followed by Tsubaki and Death the Kid with Liz and Patty lagging behind them. They'd all brung some sort of card or get well soon gift, wishing her a well recovery. They all circled around her, but thankfully Soul whipped his head back as soon as he heard a door unlocking and gave a minute sigh, with Maka opening her green eyes once again. The two let out a quiet sound of regret and misfortune. But the question was: what was Soul going to tell her once she closed her eyes. Could it be something she'd be praying for for the past week. Or another one of his clean cut scars on his arms to surprise her with. Who knows. Whilst the girls were surrounding Maka, their bags filled with cosmetics and perfumes to try and hide her cuts on her face after she'd have a shower, Death the Kid was naturally sorting out the medicine cabinet, making everything perfectly symmetrical: all of the bottles at the exact angle and the exact distance away from one another; the syringes on a 180 degree parallel angle to the corresponding one. Everything looked perfect after he'd done it. A smile erected on his face and his topaz eyes dazzled as he proudly showed off his newest work. Patty clapped at his achievement whilst Black Star merely laughed and called him a "funny guy. Since when do Grim Reapers reorganise a cabinet they'd originally done the first time around?" It was true what Black Star had said. After the incident with Ragnarok and Soul was surrendered to the hospital in the DWMA, Kid couldn't help himself but be in the exact same situation over again. Déja vu really.

They talked about all sorts of things: what happened on their mission, the Kishin battle and how many scars Soul had got now. "No thanks to you Maka but Souls got more scars now hehe" Black Star rudely said without realising. "If it were me, being the amazing undefeatable person I am, Tsubaki would never get injured nor would I. I am always going to b..." A fist forced itself at Black Star's jaw, with a cracking sound echoing the room. Soul had punched him, a sharp right hook in Black Star's muscular left cheek. Blood spat out of Black Star's mouth and as got himself up, staring at Soul he got into a fighting stance, his martial arts had kicked in. "It wasn't Maka's fault she did all she could I was the reason for my own scars, not her Black Star, just leave her alone okay she's gone through enough pain as it is without you having to bring her down" He warned Black Star, a death like glare going directly into Black Star's aquamarine eyes. "True, maybe she has had enough pain, but you haven't!" Another punch was thrown, this time as Soul as he was punched in the stomach, sending him back a few metres in the room. He got himself together again from his attack and proceeded to return Black Star's favour. As he commenced with his running, Tsubaki's arm flung itself in the way and transformed into her Enchanted Sword. Such beauty this sword possessed. An ultra-fine titanium blade, as powerful and as strong as anything blocked Soul from Black Star. "That is enough you two!" Tsubaki screamed in the room and everyone, including Black Star, was alarmed. "Black Star you shouldn't have hit him back, you know better than that" Tsubaki said, looking at him.

"No he doesn..." Soul butted in.

"And YOU Soul, you don't need to continue with it, and don't interrupt me!" Tsubaki snapped back at him, her arm still lateral. "Tsubaki... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. You've told me so many times to control my anger, but I can't. I need to get stronger" Black Star fell to his knees. "How will I ever keep on protecting you when I'm being taken advantage of by some loser like Soul who I'm not even allowed to hit?" He asked her, a grin on his face when he jokingly called Soul a loser. Footsteps could be heard as they violently smashed the concrete outside. The door opened to two females: one being Azusa Yumi and the other Mira Nygus: the temporary nurse.

Under her muffled wrappings Mira told them they Maka needed to rest and they all had to leave. "You can all come see her tomorrow, when she comes out of the bed. Oh, and Soul?" she turned around at the white haired boy.

"Yeah?" he asked, the weapon turned nurse, a yawn commencing as his cut up hand reached his face.

"I need to talk to you" Azusa said to him, a stern look in her eyes. She silently walked out of the room and Soul obeyed her command, dragging his feet behind him. She turned to a sudden halt and faced him. "Now Soul Eater, in light of events yesterday, could you tell me what you were about to do to Maka Albarn whilst she was unconscious?" A thin black eyebrow arched upwards, a smirk on her face. Of course she had seen him about to do what he was going to do to her. Of course only she would. She had the a gift no one could ever imagine. Blessed with her incredible eyesight to perfectly pinpoint enemies and see the interior map of wherever someone in the DWMA were at. "I... I don't know what you're talking about" Soul's head sank down, his cheeks engulfed by a light pink shade. He quickly erased it and looked up at the Death Scythe once again. "All I did was put a bandage around her ankle, she was bleeding badly and that was my only solution" Soul continued, a defensive tone emitted from his mouth. How could he talk to Azusa Yumi, the bossiest, most orderly and a great feminist Death Scythe about his feelings towards Maka? He felt weak, he wasn't talking to a Death Scythe at the moment, no. He was talking to a woman. Not even his own mother had ever talked about things like that with him; she knew Soul too well that he would never approach her with such difficult questions, only to make him feel more awkward than he already did. "Soul" Azusa said, a firm hand placed on his shoulder, a tender smile on her face, her eyes were delicate and caring. "Take my advice. As a growing woman Maka needs to sort out about her feelings towards people, and if she were to find out too early on it her young stages of adulthood about how you feel..."

"What makes you believe I have any feelings like that about her? She's my partner and my best friend. That's all there is. Why are you even talking to me about girl stuff? What would you know you don't even have a boyfriend. Just go away and leave me to myself" Soul snapped back at her, turning his back on her as he replied, his hands in his pockets, his head bowing to the floor, slowly walking away. "How dare you talk to a teacher and Death Scythe like that? I know there is something going on inside of you that you can't explain fully. As for the direct insult, I see no harm in a weeks worth of detentions after school in the Half Moon Classroom for an hour. The only reason I don't have a boyfriend is because I don't want one, and I do know about 'girl stuff' Soul" her hand reappeared on his shoulder, this time softer "Believe it or not, but I was once a young girl too" She said with a soft expression, making Soul feel guilty about what he said. "Now go and clean yourself up and rest. Maka will need your support tomorrow when she is discharged from the hospital wing. She's going to depend on you for the next week. If the healing Nygus continues is rapid enough, the bone should be fully healed in 8 days" Azusa continued to speak whilst the teen Scythe listened without taking any of it in. All he could think about was the one thing on his mind. The only thing he'd been thinking about for the past few days.

Maka Albarn.


	6. The truth part 2

**Chapter 6- The truth part 2**

"Take it easy Maka, it's still not healed" Soul said to her as he aided her back into their apartment from being discharged earlier that morning from the hospital in the DWMA. His arm was underneath hers, supporting her as her arm flopped on top of his, limbering and bruised. She still hadn't had the chance to get cleaned up, since the water from the shower would interfere with the medicine through the tubes in her veins. "Thanks Soul, I know I can always rely on you" Replied his Meister, a warm smile on her face as her emeralds glistened. Despite the fact that she was cut up, filthy and bruised she still looked glowing and flawless skinned. Taking delicate movements up the steps to their apartment, Maka slipped slightly on the concrete, but luckily with a quick motion, Soul stopped her from falling with one whisky of his hand. He thought it would be easier and quicker to just pick her up instead of going at a pace that a snail could win against in a race. "Right that's it Maka: you're too slow, come on, I'll pick you up it'll be easier" He exclaimed, not even halfway there. "Soul I am more than capab..." She snapped back, the pain killers wearing off but he had already scooped her up, her legs hanging in the air, trying not to move her broken ankle. "Soul what on earth DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!" Maka shouted, using her weak fists to pound his chest.

Secretly Maka loved it. She could smell his body spray emitting off him; it was a sweet scent, an aroma of vanilla and chocolate all mixed together making Maka's eyes close whenever she breathed it in through her nostrils. She tried to savor every moment; every scent that he possessed. Maka didn't usually like a lot of smells but she always liked the smell of vanilla: secretly it was her favourite scent. She declared to herself that she wouldn't be able to get out from his grasp so she decided to just give up and nuzzled her head into his shoulder socket, closing her eyes.

Soul hesitated as he felt her warm face nestled into his shoulder, her breath evaporating onto his jacket, heating his skin up slightly in that minute area. He could smell her, despite the fact that there was a scent of filth and dirt, underneath he could decode the scent of summer fruits and pineapple from her expensive french perfumes that her mama used to buy her. He needed to find out what it was so he could get her another one for her birthday coming up next month. He could buy a lot of them. He had to the money to so what was stopping him?

But she was going to France anyway in the summer so she could always get herself a new one, but still this was Maka - his best friend he was on about. In light of the fact she was going to France he still needed to teach her some french like he promised. He wasn't one to break his promises and wasn't planning on not to break this one. It could be the perfect plan to...

"Soul you can let me go now we're here" Maka said, her head tilted up from his chest, her arms trying to get herself down. Naturally to show no intense emotion between them by holding her too long, Soul gently let Maka down, making sure that she would apply no pressure to her ankle in case of damaging it again.

"Maka you really need a shower, you stink" Soul said with a childish grin on his face.

"You're one to talk Soul, even after your shower you smell like a boy, all sweaty and grimy" She lied to him back. She loved the way he smelt, her sense of smell taking in every ingredient from his body spray, tasting every flavour. Her cheeks yet again blushed a dusty rose colour and she couldn't help but smile like a little girl for no reason. "Oh yeah? Well at least I am a boy Maka, infact I'm utterly repulsed at your scent it's giving me a slight headache" He gave out a little chuckle to himself, yet again grinning at Maka to show his sincerity to her, meaning no harm in what he said. Of course, Maka knew he was joking, he knew how hygienic she was; showers every day, nails always perfectly trimmed and her room had no dust in it whatsoever - even hypoallergenic pillows so that dust mites wouldn't scurry in her pillowcases at night. He hobbled her along to the bathroom, turned the shower on by the button and let the water run until it quickly turned hot and emulsified the black tiles, making them sweat with warm vapour.

"Umm Soul, I'll be okay now by myself... this is the shower... I need to be alone... I'll be fine by myself all I need to do it wrap this..." she lifted up a plastic wrapping which seemed waterproof "...around the bandages and I'll be good to go" She smiled at his, her eyes squeezed shut trying to hide the embarrassment. She was just about to close the door when Soul caught his fingers between it, creating a gap between to door and the door frame. "Hey, Maka. Since we're at home, after your shower... do you... wanna... you know..." _'WHAT!' _ Maka thought to herself as she couldn't believe what she was saying, was she hearing things right? "...practise some french to take your mind off other things, and besides, you said that I should teach you soon after the mission was over" Soul finished.

'_Thank God. Just French, Maka. Just French that's all. Nothing else'_ she told herself and then closed to door as soon as his hand was released from it's accessible cage. "Sure Soul that would be great" She replied in a muffled tone as her voice was blocked slightly from the thick oak door.

Whilst she was in the shower, Soul had no idea what he was going to say to her, what did she want to learn, he didn't know a lot, just the basics. He felt clueless and stupid. Well in comparison to Maka, everyone was stupid, even that kid Ox after she beat him in the super written exam this year. He chuckled to himself at the memory he remembered during their prep for that test. Maka's papa had been outside their apartment, chanting to himself her name over and over again, determined for it to rub off on her and make her get the top grade. Miraculously he succeeded and was known as the lucky chanter for a few days before it wore off and was formerly known again as Death Scythe.

A few minutes went by... okay about 45 then, and Soul was still parading about the room, thinking of what to say to her... would he tell her about how he felt? No. She would laugh, wouldn't she? He couldn't do it. He couldn't deal with rejection. He'd been feeling something inside of him and he needed to tell her or he'd explode. This was the first time he'd felt something stronger than a friendship bond between anyone and he would be devastated if he were to be let down by Maka of all people. If things got awkward between them if she didn't feel the same way, he couldn't ever face her again, let alone fight with him as her partner. He needed to think quick. He needed a back up plan. He'd need to find a new partner. Black Star would do nicely, and Maka could be Tsubaki's partner from now on. She was good with soul wavelength connections so using the Dark Arm would be no problem for her skill, and Black Star's strong bond with Soul wouldn't be a tackling job either.

Soul heard the water cut off and immediately sprung his head up as he heard her singing quietly to herself, a song he could faintly remember. There were no lyrics; just notes being excavated from her sweet vocal chords. The notes were dark and twisted at the same time mysterious and indulging. How could he not know what these vocals were: he'd played them on his piano the first time that they'd met. It was his song she was singing. He liked the feeling that she was singing _his_ song and _his_ song only. He felt somewhat special, but then again she'd always sing songs in the shower. Then he heard the door knob clicking and it slowly turned.

Maka appeared in a long bath robe, it tucked neatly around her like a burrito, and hanging just over her bruised knees. He couldn't help but stare at her accidentally: her sunshine blonde, wet hair stuck to her shoulders and neck; her legs slim and slightly muscular and her eyes glistened like emeralds where the water had gotten into them. She walked out in a limped action and went to her room, without a moments notice of him believing that she was looking at him.

Little did Soul know but she was staring at him the whole time, her eyes entranced by his rubies possessing her, making her neck paralysed to look any other way. He was standing there, looking at something behind her, probably the picture of her and Blair in her cat form both eating fish in a humourous way. He stood in a parallel position, his hands in his pockets as per usual, his back slightly hunched from his back pain, she suggested to herself. Her heart was beating unnaturally whenever she saw him, but she felt slightly embarrassed as she was in nothing but a thick cotton bath robe, praying to God that she was blessed with long bath towels that covered her knobbly knees. She hobbled into her room as fast as she could, hopping on one leg as if she was playing hopscotch like a little child.

Soul heard the phone ring and answered it, as he had nothing to do whilst Maka was getting dry and changing into some clothes. It was Black Star, he could hear his heavy breathing down the phone before he even asked who was speaking. It was so cliché of him to do so, it was just another thing that Black Star struggled with to keep in line, even the samurai Mafune had said so the first time they'd met.

"Black Star what do you want? I'm kinda busy at the moment" he lied, waiting for Maka as the hair dryer was being used in her bedroom. _"The almighty victor Black Star has invited you to have to honour of playing a basketball game with me, Tsubaki and Patty. Liz couldn't make it once again because she's such a girl and Kid didn't feel like getting dirty after he'd just had his weekly facial massage. A FACIAL MASSAGE! What a lady boy like seriously can you believe it?! I would never do something like that the great Black Star doesn't even need one... I'm too perfe..."_ Soul let the phone drag on as her put it down onto the table, occasionally saying "yes" and "no" for about five minutes before re picking it up, hoping that he had finished gloating about how 'amazing' he was. "Like I said Black Star I'm kinda busy at the moment and I need to help Maka out around the house whilst she's resting her ankle. Nygus told me to make sure she doesn't put any..."

"_Is Maka one of those helpless children who can't even pick up a spoon? No. She can look after herself! You'd abandon me after I gave you the honour of playing a game with..." _Soul tapped the button on the screen of his phone and ended the call with Black Star. Ever since the incident with him going into the Kishin tears pit he'd become more and more arrogant, since Soul believed that he had now surpassed God. Then Maka's door opened slowly.

She was wearing a nicely fitted top, showing the curves of her waist. They were perfectly angled even though she didn't have very much breast wise, she had a nice figure, which was something else he liked about her physical appearance, not just her eyes. Her hair though too, she'd let it hang on her shoulders instead of having it in her childish pigtails, which was in such a beautiful condition, straight but voluminous. It was like sand from the white gold beaches of Mauritius, smooth to the touch and blinding in the sunlight. But mostly he loved her eyes. Oh how he adored her emeralds that shone through the night, giving out light in the darkest of alleyways. He remembered that they were the very first things that he saw the first time he met her, secretly complementing them in his mind.

"Pouvons-nous apprendre, Soul?" she asked him in french, to which he understood clearly. She slowly approached him and sat next to him, using the footstool as a rest for her damaged ankle. "Oui, nous pouvons et qu'est-ce que voulez-vous apprendre?" Soul replied, wondering if she'd known what he'd said to her.

"in english please Soul? I know you said something about learning but that's all" she said with embarrassment,feeling stupid next to him. "Ha." he replied to her, and crossed his arms. He slowly went up to her ear and whispered in it quickly "What would you like to learn?" and returned his head back into it's original position, his arms were still crossed. "Oh, well... I haven't really thought about it" she said, and had to consider to options in her head.

"Well..." she started and then made up her mind "...what about shopping? I wanted to buy myself some of that expensive perfume mama usually gets me for birthdays and christmas and I'm nearly running out and it's only available in France" she asked him, a hopeful tone in her voice. "Sure" he replied, taking one hand out of his pocket, resting it on his chin to think of what to say to her. "Well..." Soul started his sentence and began to speak in french...

"... and remember Maka, acheter is 'to buy'." he finished his lecture to her, his back slouched on the sofa from tiredness. She had been scribbling notes onto mint green coloured paper in an old looking scrapbook probably a gift from her mama on one of her many adventures. Her pages were filled with many important phrases, doodles of Scythes and verb tables like any devoted learner, above all Maka, would do. It was her thing to do. She was always incredibly organised.

'_Was it time to tell her' _Soul pondered to himself, his stomach all knotted and twisted in several places. He needed to tell her but how? Then he had an idea. A brilliant idea at that. "Okay Maka, for the final part I'm gonna write down some sentences and I want you to translate them into English" Soul asked her, a nervous tone in his voice. Then he proceeded to scribe them down on a crumbled piece of paper, his writing was messy like any other boys.

'_Should I tell him how I feel?'_ Maka questioned herself, her tummy had butterflies fluttering around in it. She grabbed her waist slightly to try and stop this uncomfortable feeling inside her. It made her want to tell him so badly but she couldn't deal with rejection. She believe that it were to most likely happen considering Soul would _never _go for a girl like her, she thought to herself.

After he'd finish writing down the sentences in the latin derived language she began to read them. The first one was easy:_ 'Maka, you're a really good friend of mine', _and the second too: _'But you should know something about me'_. As the sentences continued, the language was more difficult for Maka to understand and has to get out her trusty petite looking dictionary which naturally was in excellent condition.

Reading through the many pages she managed to decipher the words; _'But there is something for the last weeks' _but she didn't get one of the last lines: 'Que je me suis senti sur vous'. "Hey Soul what does this mean?" Maka enquired, her green eyes intrigued. "It'd be better to look for yourself... you'll practise better" Soul said quickly, his cheeks blushing with nervousness and excitement. This was it. No turning back. He was going to confess to her about his feelings. He still felt that hanging fear clouding over his parade. The fear that someone like Maka, whom he'd known for over 2 years would have unrequited feelings. This was the first time that he'd felt like this about any girl, feelings that he still didn't understand but yet he knew his decision.

He knew he had a crush on his partner, his Meister, his best friend: Maka Albarn. It was the ultimate trust and he couldn't escape it.

Maka desperately needed to tell him somehow but had no idea how to tell him. Still, she was wondering what he was going to tell her. Probably about that party that she already knew about and needed to remind her of again. But she was certain of one thing though.

She knew she had a crush on her partner, her weapon, her best friend: Soul Eater Evans. It was the ultimate truth and she couldn't escape it.

But it was imperative for her that she were to finish those sentences, she promised to do so. She scanned the pages of her dictionary thoroughly, but still in amazing condition as the pages were rapidly being searched, every word scanned with precision. She found the infinitive to the word 'Sentir': to feel. She put two and two together. She understood the phrase, her eyes widened at the answer she discovered. 'That I've been feeling about you'. She couldn't believe it. Were her eyes deceiving her? Was she thinking clearly, not just what she wanted to see. She turned to Soul, her partner, her best friend. His face was burning red and his rubies were entranced into her emeralds, discovering everything he wanted to about her. He felt as if he could see her entire life just in her eyes.

"Oh... Soul" Maka said, placing her hands where her heart was. It was beating faster than ever, her cheeks burning a deep pink with excitement. She could hardly believe her luck as she finally knew that the one she cared for the most had the same feelings toward her. "Soul..." she repeated his name, loving the sound of it being produced by her vocal chords. Soul looked up and replied back to her "Y-yeah?" coughing on his own words, wondering if this was the moment his life would be crushed. "Why didn't you tell me Soul?" she asked him, her eyes tightened as she gave a darling smile which he would implant in his mind forever. "Because I'm afraid that you'll reject me. I know you will Maka, I just needed to tell..." Before Soul could finish he was grabbed by Maka and squeezed tightly into a comforting hug, one arm over his shoulder and one of them around his torso, gripping onto his jacket, feeling the thick layer of muscle on his warm body.

He felt like a pulse of electric had zapped through his body, warming up his heart as she grabbed him into a hug, her head snuggled into his neck. She was so warm against him, her breath sweltering his neck but it wasn't horrible. He could smell her too. She smelt _gorgeous_, like strawberries and pineapple, you know - those sorts of girly fruity scents that attracted everyone. It made Soul want to keep her there forever but he knew he couldn't, he knew he'd have to let go, but he wasn't sure how now she was in his bonds.

Soul heard her muffling something in his shoulder but wasn't sure of what it was. "What'd you say Maka?" he asked and pulled her up to face him. She looked stunning and was so close to doing something to her, but her opinion was the only thing from stopping him. "I said..." she blushed once more, her face tinted pink all over except her emeralds. She moved about on the sofa, adjusting her broken ankle into a more comfortable position before looking back at Soul. "...I've been.. well... feeling the same way...too" she finished, almost coughing on her words in front of him. She'd never said anything like this to anyone, but was ecstatic at the fact that he liked her too. She could hardly believe her eyes when she found out. Was she dreaming? She felt as if she were, for her memories of the last few moments did not seem real. She loved it when she touched him, she could feel her heart beating fast against his equally fast beating heart, vibes going through her making her quiver whenever she moved slightly, feeling his hands on her slim waist and back.

"Seriously Maka? You're kidding right?" he hoped she wasn't. They stared into each other's eyes, mesmerised by each other's appearances, unaware of how long they were doing so for. Maka came back to reality after realising what she heard "What do you mean I'm kidding? She asked him, a puzzled look etched on her face. How could Soul even think she was kidding? She had never felt like this about anyone and he thought she was_ kidding? 'Is he out of his mind?' _the young Meister asked herself. How could she show him that she wasn't kidding. There was only one for her to prove her feelings.

"Soul..." Maka said in a sweet tone, her gloveless hand reaching up to touch his soft cheek, stroking it with her thumb. Her eyes pierced into his once more as she proceeded to move closer towards him, her ankle shuffling into a more comfortable position for healing to be more rapid. Maka was millimetres away from his face, feeling his warm breath on her lips. She could taste his wonderful flavours teasing her tastebuds. She wanted to get the full taste; the full experience. She could feel her and Soul's lips brushing one anothers slowly before they found each others at last. Maka closed her eyes.

She loved the feel of his lips on hers, the soft skin of his gentle touch pressed onto her peach toned lips. She moved her hand up past his neck up into his soft snowy hair, holding it as the other pressed lightly onto his neck. She could feel his arm wrapped around her silhouette, holding her tightly as if he never wanted to let go of her, the other holding her face, tilting it delicately. Their lips moved in synchronization, one after the other exploring each other's mouths, tasting all the wonderful flavours the other had to offer.

Soul felt like nothing he'd ever felt before; the feeling of Maka wrapping her arm around his head, running her narrow fingers through it before holding onto it with soft motions, tugging onto it like a child would with their parent's fingers during the early stages of childhood. He slowly put his hand on her back and began to move it down until he felt the curves of her dainty waist and coiled his arm around it and pulled her closer into him, their lips pressed harder on to one anothers, their mouths being corroded softly against their own.

They parted for a second to catch their breath, their eyes re opening, staring into each other's nebulae. Maka's eyes beamed a grass green as Souls glowed a seductive red. That same seductive red that Maka couldn't resist as she hungered for more. She was like a Kishin hunting for only one soul. The soul belonging to Soul Eater. She smiled at the same time he did, and then slid her hand from his upper neck and tugged at his shirt's collar, pulling him in again.

She pressed her lips soft but firmly, never wanting to let go.


	7. Nightmares

_Author's note: In light that I've been publishing new chapters quite frequently I have a lot of revision to do for my exams, so I might not be able to post new chapters as often as I do! I will try and post them as often as I can though :) - The Pouting Horse. *rocking the eminem lyrics - sorry I couldn't resist :P_

**Chapter 7- Nightmares**

"Maka wake up we've got school" Soul said sheepishly and gaped open his mouth to yawn. Maka and he hadn't bothered to go to bed last night but stayed up to watch a film, lying on the sofa, Maka nuzzled into Soul as he wrapped his arms around her silhouette, holding her tightly. Despite the fact that the film was on, they hadn't taken much notice of it and spent the staring at each other is the eyes, and feeling the touch of the other person's lips, locking them together with passion and excitement.

_Maka's eyes were still closed as she felt Souls lips gently press onto hers, escapading and exploring her mouth, one of his hands on her rosy cheek, the other on her upper leg, feeling her bare smooth skin as it slowly moved down to her calf and moulded itself there . Maka's heartbeat raised as she felt Souls hand transacting down her leg and held her baby-like skin firmly but with ease for it to move. She ran her fingers through his freshly cleaned hair coiling her thin arm and grabbed onto a chunk of it once again, running one hand down to reach his chest touching his muscular torso and ran her hand down it, like he did with her leg, and proceeded to put it under his shirt, slowly stroking his abdomen with her finger, feeling the hard muscle he'd built up in training sessions. Soul proceeded to move away from her mouth and down to her neck, kissing every inch of it, tasting her sweet french perfume she'd always put on after she'd have a shower. Maka's eyes kept close as her body electrified with Soul's movements tracing all over her..._

Soul once again attempted to wake her up as he carefully moved her about, still snuggled up in him. Maka's eyes twitched and then slowly sprung with life. "Soul! The time!" Maka realised as she looked at the clock and it showed 7:30 am. "We've gotta be at the DWMA by eight or it's cleaning Sid's rotting teeth as a late punishment" Maka continued, shivering at the thought of a zombie's fleshy yellow teeth with bugs of all species inhabiting the crevices. She only had 30 minutes to get a wash, dressed and breakfast before running to school. She could feel Soul behind up getting up as she moved around to attempt to move with her broken ankle.

"I only have so little time to get ready for school, and plus you need the bathroom too...!" Maka continue to go on without noticing Soul as he proceeded to Maka breakfast. "...Soul?" She asked and turned her head around, only to see him walking out of his room with a clean top and proceeded into the kitchen. He lay the top on the kitchen counter near the sink and took off his dirty top from the night before, his thick scar showing. It was strange to see Soul like this now for she had strong feelings for him and was mesmerised by his toned body, her stomach fluttering inside, but on the other hand was still hurting from looking at the scar as she constantly blamed herself for being too weak.

Maka managed to get herself up and with a newly dressed Soul he helped her into her room an closed her door to let her get changed. Despite the fact that they had spent the night together she was still nervous to let him see her, so respectfully he wouldn't go too 'd only been one night for goodness sake anyway. It was painful to get her jeans off and skirt on from her broken ankle constantly moving around as she could feel the bones corroding against each other, the sharp fractures waiting to re splinter. Thankfully Nygus was an incredible healer so it wouldn't matter if she could feel them twitching at each other, her rapid medical skills would heal it in no time.

She hopped along to the her wardrobe and got on her usual ordeal - a white blouse and cream vest over it with her statement black coat as the air was chilly this morning. Maka could see the air condensing on her window, watery tears of vapour drizzling down it as if it was in pain and distort. She quickly washed her face and ate breakfast - jam on toast. She tasted the sweet strawberry flavour entering her mouth, her tongue licking the condiment off of her plump lips.

Soul finished his and noticed a piece of jam on the corner of her mouth and with one swift movement traced the edge of her mouth with his finger and wiped the sweet sensation from her crevice and placed it in his own mouth not only tasting the flavour of the food, but her flavour as well: the flavour he can still taste from last night. It was sweet and fruity, but soft at the same time. He savoured every flavour, hungry for more.

As his finger ran across her mouth Maka couldn't help but blush. His smooth fingertip against her lips left her tingling and a quick vibe went through her. Soul helped Maka to her feet and grabbed her crutches, placed them gently on both of her arms and walked along side her to school. Despite the fact that the Academy was 15 minutes away at normal pace and it was 7:50 it would take them at least a good half an hour to get there in Maka's condition. But he knew that Maka would freak out if she were late. She'd never in all her life been late and never planned to either. "Soul, can we go on your motorbike this morning? I don't wanna get us late" She asked him with a sweet gesture, and held his hand not only for support on her ankle, but to feel his warm skin.

"Sure Maka, but how are we gonna get you on without your leg breaking again?" He replied back to her, a puzzled look on his face. That was a dilemma. She usually just swung her legs about in the air or beside the wheels making sure she didn't put her feet too close to them. "I... I have an ideal that we could try..." She replied back, lacking some confidence in her tone as if one of her plans might not actually work. "Then let's do it, we've not got a lot of time..." And with that they proceeded to the bike.

Still unsure of how they managed to figure out how to keep her broken leg intact the weapon of the duo had an idea before his Meister could say hers. Soul merely had the simplistic views on life, nothing too creative. All he did was pull up the metal part which holds the bike when not in use so it doesn't fall over and using his old hair band placed it around the pole and Maka's foot so she could rest it there and pray that it wouldn't slip off. It was firm and hard to move around in, but not uncomfortable. After mounting her good leg on the other side of the motorbike, Soul jumped onto the bike like a cowboy on a horse and quickly fired up the ignition. Maka's arms wrapped themselves around Soul's waist and she held tightly to him as if she never wanted to let go once more. He loved the feeling of her wrapping her arms around him, the wind rushing through his thick white hair on a sunny thursday morning.

"Hey Maka, are you okay?" her weapon asked her, looking forwards for oncoming traffic. He revved the right handle of his motorbike, speeding up as he felt the rush of the turbo burning inside his metal machine, the engine becoming more powerful than ever. "Yeah... yeah i'm fine... Soul can we slow down please? I can feel my ankle acting up" She asked him and placed her head of his back, her eyes closed as he slowed down, feeling the speed of the wind through her pigtails decreasing. Her arms were still wrapped around his waist, pressing her hands hard on his flat abdomen.

Seconds before the bell struck Maka and Soul finally got to school, to her relief. "Just on time" she sighed to herself and Soul unravelled the headband from her shoe and carefully placed her broken bone on the floor. He lifted her up off the motorbike and put her crutches underneath her arms. "Thank you, Soul" Maka said to him as she gave him a kiss on his soft skin, her cheeks glowing the familiar dusty rose whilst his turned a vibrant peach against his pale skin. Little did they know, someone was watching their every move, every gesture: Soul's gesture. It was someone who would have never expected something to happen between them, despite their professional relationship. Someone whom was also hiding a secret they would never admit to due to their stubbornness

"Soul what the hell was that!? Why the heck did Maka kiss you for!? ANSWER ME!" exclaimed the voice from afar. Soul turned around to see where the screaming was from. He detected the voice - the loud, arrogant tone with a hint of girl in it. Black Star. It could have been anyone, but it had to be Black Star. Black Star was one of those people who kept reminding others about how amazing he was or anything he classed to be embarrassing just to make himself feel better. He wasn't a bully, just too stupid to realise that he might be hurting someone's reputation or feelings. But luckily for Soul, his feelings nor his reputation were damaged. He and Maka were unofficially together and he cared for her more than anything.

"Because she did, that's why. In fact, I'd let her kiss me anywhere" Soul shouted back to him as he and Maka walked towards Black Star. Surprisingly Tsubaki was nowhere to be found, which raised suspicions as to why Black Star was by himself standing outside of the Academy. Of course, Black Star was above them on a pillar so Soul had to scream everything to him, much to the annoyance of Maka's ear drums. Still, though, how on earth did Black Star see from that far away?!

When Black Star finally decided to get down with a large thud and the damage of some of the concrete on the floor delivered by his impact, he sturdily got up and stared right back at his best friend with a devilish grin on his face. "So you and small boobs are together huh? What brain cells died in there?" Black Star asked Soul as he began to hit the side of his cranium, checking for a hollow skull. "Knock it off Black Star!" Soul pushed him away to stop him from getting a headache. "And who are you calling small boobs?! Just look at your feet... they're _huge_!" Maka exclaimed back, her bag covering her chest as her other grabbed her book and flogged it hard over his head, sending him flying to the ground, blood squirting from his head.

"Why I ought to!" Black Star got back up and drew his large hand into a fit, ready to punch the stupid meister in the face for what she'd done. Before he could reach her, Soul grabbed Black Star's hand and socketed it into his own, using all his strength against Black Star's brute force to prevent him from harming Maka whilst the other was blocking him from her creating a barrier between them.. "What the hell do you think you're gonna do to her? If you touch her, I'll have to beat the crap out of you" Soul warned Black Star talking through his clenched razor-like teeth, his eyes got smaller as he threatened him. "You're going to beat the crap out of _me?_ On what planet are you going to defeat me? I could never lose to an idiot like you! I've surpassed God there's no way you can be me, the almighty Black Star! HAHA don't make me _laugh_" Black Star shouted at him as he pushed Soul back a few steps, friction rubbing off of Soul's shoes.

"GUYS ENOUGH OF THIS! YOU TWO ARE BEST FRIENDS YOU SHOULDN'T BE FIGHTING LIKE THIS... _AGAIN..._ BECAUSE _YOU..._" Maka pointed to Black Star with her good arm "...CAN'T KEEP YOUR LOUD MOUTH SHUT!" Maka shouted at Black Star, his face dropping to a horrific look. How could Maka say those things to him? What was wrong with her? Was it the drugs from the hospital wearing off, shouting not only because she was in pain but because of something else maybe? "Hey what's you're problem, I do one thing and you go 'Maka chop' on me, get over yourself. Besides it didn't hurt anyway, nothing can hurt me! HAHA!" Black Star tried to laugh off the awkward situation, without luck, his breaths were short and unpatterned, trying to hide the pain as he clenched his teeth and his eyes darted everywhere. "So anyways, what's the deal with _you two_?" Black Star asked them both, in attempt to change the subject.

Thankfully he was in luck as he saw Maka's cheeks turn inferno and Soul couldn't help but smile. "Are you two like in a relationship or something? You _are_! Yes! The mighty Black Star has done it once again! I didn't even need answers to figure out what's going on between you two!" Black Star couldn't help but beam and gloat and point at Soul to show his victory, who was blushing and smiling, smiling for a visage so it wouldn't look obvious he was about to punch Black Star square in the face, but a smile because...well.. it was true. "So what if something is going on between us Black Star, what are you gonna do about it?" Soul finally managed to swallow his slight embarrassment as talk to his best friend back. "And when are you gonna ask Tsubaki out? It's so clear that you like her" Black Star stopped to a halt and became frozen, petrified even.

'_Since when did Soul know i had a crush on Tsubaki? I've never let my guard down on it being obvious? Oh no. If he tells her it'll be the end of me. No. No one must find out. No one.'_ Black Star questioned himself, confused. He began to scratch the back of his head to think of what to say next. "Since when have I had a crush on someone? I don't need a girlfriend, let alone Tsubaki. I would never go out with her even if she were the last person on earth" He contradicted Soul, believing that it would be enough to make Soul and Maka oblivious to his feelings for his weapon. A sheet of sweat was painted on his face, his palms were sweaty, knees weak, arms were heavy*. "...Sure you don't Black Star... whatever you say..." Maka added to the conversation, needing to say something in light of events that included her a few moments ago. It felt nice not to be the centre of attention in a conversation. She'd always hated that. Maka wasn't a shy girl, just not someone as boastful as Black Star or even as arrogant as Soul.

"You haven't answered my question yet anyway!" Black Star shouted in their faces in order to make them listen, spit flying out of his mouth millimetres away from Soul's white hair. "Do you mind not spitting every time you scream, or even scream? You give my migraines" Soul contradicted. "And yeah..." He turned to Maka, her beautiful emeralds glowing as her face was still blushing a dusty rose colour. She looked perfect. "...I guess we are". He couldn't help but smile and blush like he'd never done before when he said those words. Those words he would love to say a thousand times over themselves in front of her, showing how much he adored her. "Yeah... We are Black Star, and there's nothing you an do about it" Maka added once again. She loved the way he would say 'we' to label them as a couple. Even though they never said they were boyfriend and girlfriend officially, they still were. They cherished each other with all their hearts and found it almost impossible to restrain themselves from lashing at each others mouths in public.

"Well. I never expected this to happen...Hey Maka want to know Soul's worst secret about him as a baby when he put on all of his mum's..." A thick clenched fist went straight into Black Star's jaw once again, and coming from Soul, once again. "Hey! What did I say about telling people that? You know how embarrassing that is for me! I was only young and you decide to tell the whole fucking world?!" Soul shouted at Black Star, his face going redder and redder by the second. It must've been_ some_ secret for him to punch Black Star like that. It must've been something so embarrassing the _thought_ of it would give him shudders.

"Okay... I owe you that one, I know I shouldn't have told her, but the first rule in a relationship is honesty isn't it?" Black Star replied, making Soul feel guilty. He wiped the blood pouring out of his mouth by the pint, brushing away the little stones that stuck onto his bloody graze on his jaw line where he'd been knocked off his feet and scraped it harshly on to the floor. He began to chuckle to himself planning his next move for future references. "Come on, we should be going to class, the first bell has already gone" Maka butted in, still worrying about her punctuality. If she were late, then she'd lose her title of never having a late mark to Ox. This was something that she could never do. It was fundamental for her to be on time yet another day. Maka and Soul walked up to meet with Black Star who was a fair few metres away from them due to the impact of Soul hitting Black Star sending him back a lot of paces. Soul got to one side of Maka and placed his arm under hers whilst Black Star placed his muscular arm on her other side, supporting her whilst she walked and literally swept her slightly off her delicate and brittle feet.

She could feel the shock waves pulsing through her statuesque figure when Soul touched her once more, feeling his warm skin against hers, making her feel like she had been stunned with static. Soul wasn't weak, no, but he wasn't as strong as Black Star either. Come to think of it, no one was, Maka couldn't think of anyone who had arms like Black Stars... they were like legs coming out of his shoulders, perfectly muscular and angled, not an ounce of fat on them. She could see a deep purple vein going through his Star tattoo - the tattoo that indicated his family, unlocking their history into her mind whenever she thought about it. It was only natural for Maka to investigate into the assassin's family history, to research on the near-kishin clan who would do anything for money let it be theft or a blood dripped head on a desk of some demonic person...

…"That HAD to be the _worst_ day ever... all we did was write and I think my thumb is a letter away from dropping off" Soul groaned as he yawned, snarling his shark-like teeth into the air before placing his large hand over his even larger mouth. "It wasn't that bad... I mean..." Maka continued, trying to add some sort of conversation.

"Yeah?" Soul replied to her, having a slight idea of what she might say, hoping that she would say it.

"Well... I had you to sit next to..." Maka replied softly before she turned her head and kissed him on the cheek. Soul felt her soft lips touch his cheek and it began to flame up a deep red, hovering just beneath his eyes, contrasting the shades. In Maka's opinion nothing could compare to the colour of Soul's eyes. They were like rubies, burning in the nebulae in the deepest part of space, glistening, waiting for someone to realise just how incredibly beautiful, not to mention highly seductive, they were.

Coming back to their apartment, Soul's arm once again supporting his partner, there, at their door, was a tall thin man dressed in black and dark grey, a signature tie with his signature cranberry red hair. "Papa, what are you doing here? My leg is fine, no need to check on me!" Maka said to her dad, but it was not Maka he was looking at. It was the young man standing right next to her. _'Oh my God does he know? He'll kill him if he does!'_ Maka thought to herself as a bead of sweat came down her forehead and channeled down her cheek and ended at her jawline, dripping off onto the floor. She was shaking, wondering what would happen if her prediction was true. "So, Soul. Anything you wanna tell me? In regards to my sweet, innocent, underaged, beautiful and did I mention _underaged_ daughter?" Spirit snapped at Soul, hearing the tension in his voice. Spirit was guarding the door, his arms were crossed and slouched slightly so his shoulder rested on the exterior door frame, supporting his tall figure. "Yes, actually, there is" Soul replied back to him, arrogance in his voice. "Me and Maka are dating, if that's what you wanna know, I adore her and she the same way about me and nothing will ever change that. Now if you..."

"MAKA WHY? WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO YOUR PAPA?!"

Spirit broke down on the floor, tears pouring from his eyelids, mucus dripping from his nose. "WHY WOULD YOU GO OUT WITH HIM. YOU COULD HAVE HAD ANY ONE AND IT HAD TO... BE THAT BOY WITH THE OCTOPUS HAIR!" Spirit's head fell to the floor and a pool of tears swam themselves across the tiles of the corridor. "Papa, I can't help it, it just sorta happened..." Maka added, trying to comfort her papa which sadly only made it worse for him. Spirit lifted his head up, tears still swarming from his eyes and a long rope of snot dangling from his nose. "Maka... why would you upset your papa even more. I love you and your mother... but this is giving me a reason not to! Maka please tell me this isn't real! Please tell me this is a joke!" Spirit cried in disbelief, his head parallel to the dirty floor once again until he could feel the soft palm of someone's hand on his shoulder, believe that it was the persons whom he wanted it to be. "Get up, you're making a fool of yourself in front of me and Maka" It was Souls firm hand on his shoulder, aiding him to get up as he slowly let it drop and hang by Spirit's wrist. With some reluctance the Death Scythe finally got up and wiped his invigorated face with his suit jacket on his arm, a little excess of shine still on his face where he'd not wiped properly.

Soul looked up straight into Spirit's eyes: fear and bravery at the same time. The fear inside of Soul grew believing that Spirit would take Maka away from him, something which he knew would never happen, especially not now, on the other hand the bravery was overpowering the fear, just like it had done when Maka faces Asura in the fight, only this time it was him protecting her and not the other way around. "Listen, please" Soul added on the end to show his manners portraying his respect to her dad. "I really like your daughter, and nothing you say can ever take that away from me. We're in a relationship and we need you to accept it. I need you to accept it. I promise not to do anything that would ever harm her or make her feel uncomfortable, I'm not a monster despite my weapon's appearance. You of all people should know that" Soul finished his monologue, a soft tone in his voice, but it was not weak, it was strong and withheld, showing no sign of fear.

"Maka, papa loves you very much..." the Death Scythe repeat himself, making sure she heard everything he had to say as it was vital information in his perspective "...but if Soul ever does anything to you that you don't want him to, tell me and i will cut his fucking head off.." a black and silver blade emerged from one of his shoulders, promoting his high status and power, to theoretically intimidate the arrogant teen boy standing in front of him. "...be sure of that" Spirit finally said, a death glare shot directly into Soul's eyes as if it were Azusa Yumi and her target.

'_Was it seriously that easy? Was that what he had to say and Spirit would accept? There had to be something else'_ Soul thought whilst Maka and her papa talked in the background, something about a new kishin or whatever. "Oh and Soul?" Spirit added once again. _'What? you got something else to add to your list of demands and threats cranberry head?'_ Soul once again thought to himself, daring not to say it out loud for there would be drastic consequences. "Yeah?" Soul asked him, projecting his voice with power, not hint of child inside it, showing his full maturity. He could see this being a demand so deep that if it were broken so would Soul. Permanently. "If she gets pregnant... wait... strike that... if I ever find out you two have slept together..." The thought made Maka cringe. Was she really having some sort of moronic S.R.E lesson with her papa and her boyfriend? "...I will hunt you down like a dog and eat your soul, got it?" a creepy smile etched onto Spirits face as he warned the weapon with deadly seriousness swimming in his eyes. He said goodbye to Maka, kissed her on her forehead, much to Maka's hate considering she wanted no contact with him, and walked off, his hands once again in his pocket like they usually were.

"Well Maka, we did it. We got your das to accept us" Soul walked up to Maka and traced his finger over her soft cheek sending ripples up her spine where she could feel his touch. He placed his palm on her cheek and pressed his lips gently against hers, moving slowly all around her mouth, enjoying every single moment of it, wanting it to last forever, never wanting to wait for it to come and stop. She placed both of her arms around his neck and let them hang loosely as she followed his movements tasting his sweet flavours. Maka opened her eyes and stared up the same time as Soul did, smiled and re locked lips...

_...'Such beautiful skin you have there... yes... so beautiful and defined... It would be nice to ...experiment on... hahahah! HAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHA!' A sharp blade, which seemed to be a scalpel was raised in their air, reflecting the light off it making it gleam, by non other than Dr Franken Stein. The knife was then lowered and began to cut away at the stomach, flesh being ripped off, blood pouring out vigorously.. the pain was excruciating..'_

"AHHHHHH!" the screamer wailed, waking up the person in the next room. Their entire body was covered in a thick blanket of sweat, their hair dampened by the heat coming from the pillow where the lay. A door knob began to gingerly and their body froze, not a muscle moved, not an eyelid blinked. They assumed the worst and hallucinated the worst: for Dr stein to appear with a thousand knives in his lab coat and a thousand cries of laughter from the pain he would create. They screamer was petrified and prayed for only one thing as soon as the door crept open slowly, a pale hand wrapped around the door frame, a shadow reflected by the moonlight coming from the window. A tall figure with a narrow body and some sort of long attire dangling off their shoulders...

"Black Star? Are you okay? I heard you scream" It was Tsubaki. Thank goodness t was only Tsubaki. One of her arms was normal with her pale narrow fingers, the other with the enchanted sword, ready to protect him if he were in any type of danger. He had never felt more thankful than now for his weapon to be with him at that very moment. If it were anyone else he wouldn't know what to do. "Black Star?" she asked again a worried tone in her voice as he was still in shock and somewhat immobilised. She placed her delicate hands on his shoulders and began to shake him, harder by each few seconds that went past without any movement from him. His whole body felt her soft skin on his salt layered skin, the baby-like touch of Tsubaki Nakatsukasa on his arms shaking him. "Black Star please get out of this... this thing you're in!" She shook him harder than ever before he finally blinked and returned to the 'normal' world of Death City, "Thank goodness you're okay, what happened?" Tsubaki said, a slight tear in her eye. Black Star hesitated for a moment, unable to think of what to say. "I just had a bad dream that was all" Black Star said with confidence covering his white lie. He didn't want to worry her, she did enough of that already. "I just fell into this creepy hole where me and Crona had a fight... and I screamed because..." the assassin gulped, unprepared for what he was about to say. "...he won. It just made me a little shocked that someone a pathetic as him won against someone as amazing as me". He egotistically said, as he would do in his usual manner. Tsubaki wiped her petite tears away and smiled at Black Star, reassured of the horror that he had seen in his dream. She didn't believe him, of course, he was too predictable like that. She only believed him or she wouldn't have heard the end of it and didn't want to displease him. "Well, good night Black Star" Tsubaki said with a bright smile on her face as she re-wrapped her kimono around her when she got up and closed the door, leaving him to rest once again. Black Star shuffled around in his bed, his head confused, his visage puzzled...

…"Maka? Maka what's wrong? Maka wake up you idiot!" Soul nudged her around in her bed careful not to move her ankle. Maka slowly opened her eyes as she realised her weapon was staring at her right in the face, calling out her name. "Maka?Can you hear me? Maka!" he continued, unaware she was half awake. Her eyes filled up with tears as they drained down her face slowly. "Oh Soul! I had the most horrible dream that I've had in a long time" She replied to him as she lifted her upper body up and flung herself onto him, a tear stain coming onto his shoulder. He slowly put his arms around her waist as she placed her head snugged itself into his shoulder socket once more. "It's going to be fine, Maka it was only a dream... want to tell me about it?" He asked her, a caring tone in his voice as he kissed her strawberry scented hair a few times, showing his comfort and protection to her even more.

"I was in a dark room, unable to see a thing when all of a sudden hundreds of multicoloured lights came on at once, and I could hear echoes of dead bodies crying out to me, trying to reach me and k..kill m..me" Maka burst into tears once again and re moistened the tear patch on his t-shirt. He lifted her head up to look straight at him, his eyes flowing into hers. "Maka, listen. I will never let anything hurt you, you know that right?" Soul soothed Maka's fears and he placed her into a tight hug once again, kissing her hair once again. "I just f.. feel as if something bad is going to happen. It's one of those things you know?" Soul nodded to Maka's reply, even though he had no idea what she was on about. Maka was Soul's girlfriend and as his girlfriend he would protect her no matter what. "Come on, you can sleep in my room Maka" Soul said as he carefully lifted her up out of her bed in the bridal lift. "Soul what do you think you're doing?!" She said worryingly. "Maka, relax. It's a large bed. I'll sleep on my side and you sleep on the side. Capiche?" He asked her again, not letting her down anyway to even consider it. Her placed her on the already overturned bed and placed his thick goose feather duvet over her, tucking her in. He got in on the other side and tried to get to sleep, but with Maka there he couldn't. She was right there and there wasn't a lot that he could do. He crept to the other end of his bed and slowly wrapped his arms around her hot waist, waiting for some sort of reaction to his cold skin. On the contrary, all Maka did was turn her head, smile and kiss him softly once on the lips. "Thank you" She noted to him sleepily as she turned her head and closed her eyes whilst he did the same, feeling her heart beat in sync with his.

Together they beat as one.


	8. The party

_Author's note: Sorry for the late publishing! I've been revising like crazy for my exams to I've not been able to write a lot I'll be surprised whether I'll be able to publish it by Sunday but hey ho! I'll do them as fast as I can, -The Pouting Horse_

_*Veoaoak that's for you XD_

**Chapter 8 - The Party part 1**

Standing in her wide spread room, the sun setting just over the horizon, dropping colours of gold and fire orange beneath the midnight sky, Maka sat at her vintage dressing table, her ankle fully healed after a couple of weeks of extreme rapid healing, and began to blow dry her dampened hair, brushing it back at the same time as the electrical appliance blasted hot air through it to give it volume. There was this big party coming up at a 3 star Meister's house that very evening, somewhere in the dry desert, and everyone was going to be there; Soul; Black Star; Tsubaki; Death the Kid; Liz and Patty; even Crona. Well, Crona was only going to be there for a short while, he doesn't like being around a lot of people and doesn't know how to handle it.

After finishing her hair off, Maka decided to keep it casual by letting it all hang by her shoulders, no childish pigtails, no silly hair clips either. She was going to be mature- fit in the with older crowd of people. She wanted to show Soul that she was more mature than what people assumed she was. She wanted to show him that she was capable of doing anything. She wanted to show him how much she cared for him. She wanted to be a proper, mature girlfriend that Soul could never resist.

She still needed to get ready, however, and was only in a short pink cotton towel when she heard a knock on the door which proceeded by "I'm coming in Maka, whether you want me too or not" voice from Soul, a hint of teasing dwelled in it. He came into her room, dressed in casual attire consisting of a dark green cotton shirt and black slim fit jeans that fit perfectly, sculpting around his muscular calves and slim thighs. His hair was in it's usual spikey mess, but with a little clip in the middle to lift his fringe up so he could see better. He desperately needed a trim.

"Oh, sorry, how... rude of me to interrupt you when you're in nothing but a towel" Soul mockingly said as he smiled at her, analysing very part of her that was visible: her slim legs, narrow shoulders and neck and radiant icy-blonde hair. Maka's cheeks blushed a more concentrated pink that what they'd ever done before. She was so embarrassed to see Soul looking at her whilst she was in a towel, the only thing that created a barrier between her body and Soul's peering eyes.

"Soul! Do you mind I'm trying to get ready!" Maka snapped and pulled her towel higher up her chest, trying to conceal away what she had hardly any of. She needed a way to get rid of him quick, as she could feel her hand losing grip of the wet towel slowly slipping from between her narrow fingers. She ran towards him and attempted to push him out of her room, her towel teasing her hand, loosening its grip.

"Ha, I'm kidding Maka, who do you take me for a pervert?" Soul replied with a teasing voice, slowly proceeding out of her room. On one hand Soul thought it was funny to see her all embarrassed like that, to make fun of her whilst she had only a towel wrapped around her, but on the other he thought it cute to see her acting all shy in front of him, her cheeks blushing the dusty rose he loved to see. It made him feel warm inside whenever he thought about her, the warmth of her skin, the warmth of her breath, the warmth of her lips on his.

After Soul went out of her room, Maka continued to prepare herself for the night and strolled to the other side of her room to her wardrobe. Drat. She was out of luck with her outfits. The majority of them were her classic checkered skirts, blouse tops and cashmere cream jumpers. Hunting around for something at least decent enough for someone to wear at a party she came across something peculiar. Something she'd hope she never would have to wear. But it was perfect for this occasion. Picking it up from the deepest darkest part of her wardrobe she found a sheer high cut yellow crochet top with pearl gold beading at the hem with deep blue acid-wash style hot pants that made her slightly cringe at the sight of them, she remembered how she had possessed these remarkable clothes. But on the other hand, she adored the top at the same time, the shorts she was given were given out of sheer force.

_Maka trailed behind Liz and Patty, accompanied by Tsubaki throughout the never ending shopping centre in hope of finding a new outfit for the summer or any event. Of course, being Liz she would always wear the latest fashion in clothing items and would always get new ones whenever she had free time. Hoarding clothes into her already crammed-to-the-brim wardrobe was a hobby, an obsession of hers. It was also an OCD too, but to the hatred of Death the Kid when he would see t-shirts mixed with chiffon shirts and none of them in colour order. He would spend the whole weekend just shorting out her clothes, putting them into style order, material order, colour order, brand order, and just about anything else that had some sort of 'order'. Much to his immediate hatred though, she would mess it up with more clothes and he could collapse after 2 days worth of hard work. _

_Sighing with all her might, despising the girls for making her come whilst they enjoyed themselves, Maka forced herself into a shop with them to see what was new in stock. Liz ran off with Tsubaki in the 'Tall' women's section where they'd, in their opinion, had seen "The most amazing dress ever!" noted by Liz, her eyes clenched together, her arms waving loosely in the air, screaming it over and over in Maka's dull, expressionless face. She decided to go with Patty as she pounced around the shop, discovering all these animal print clothes as if she were David Attenborough, analysing them in detail, explaining to Maka how they all looked like Giraffe print even though they were Leopard and Zebra. It was until Patty had given up hope of finding 'the perfect Giraffe print top' that she actually found a Giraffe print top, much to her joy as her eyes flashed like lightbulbs and she jumped with all the stupidity she had. Maka felt like she wanted to kill herself at that moment; there was no way she would find any decent clothes in here. _

_With clothes hanging all over every verticy on Liz and Tsubaki, they found Maka and Patty standing in a corner of the shop, one of them as pale and mundane as Lord Death and the other as red as Spirit's hair. "Ahh don't you just love shopping for new clothes? It feels amazing!" Liz expressed to the others, ripples ran over her body as she felt the soft fabrics mapped all over her skin. "Then of course, I have Kid there who slaves away all weekend sorting out my wardrobe after spending most of his money, let alone mine and then to trash it" She added, projecting her little anecdote proudly as if it were an achievement._

"_You do it all the time Liz, it's not fair on Kid, you destroy him after all his hard work" Patty lashed back at her older sister, but then bowed her head down and remained silent for disrespecting her. Liz gave her a grave look, but then it turned into a puzzled one, and finally one of a conclusion. "You like Kid, don't you Patty? It's okay, we're all girls here, you can..."_

"_Ew! What do you mean I LIKE KID?! He's a nice person, and all and just because I don't treat him like a piece of rubbish you assume I have a CRUSH on him?!" Patty quickly snapped back her cheeks blushing violently, her eyes darting everywhere and then back at the floor after lashing out at her sister. "Patty" Liz placed her hand on her little sister's small shoulder, her eyes fixed with hers. "I never said you had a _crush_ on him, I merely stated that you liked him, just as a friend. You've just said that you didn't have a crush on him, implying that you do" Liz replied back in a sweet tone, a smile drew on her face after she found out some hidden evidence about her only family, her sister, her best friend. Why would she not tell her that she felt something for Kid? They'd knew him for such a long time, yet she never knew she had feelings for him. _

"_I...uh...well...um..." Patty gulped on every word, trying to think of what to say_

_Patty was smart, though. Not book smart. Not street smart. Just smart in a way no one would understand. Smart in the way of concealing things like no one else. She didn't want to admit it to anyone of what she felt. But Patty would never lie. She was Patricia Thompson and she had a crush on her Meister. It wasn't in her to lie and she would've eventually told Liz someday. No, she didn't lie. She just didn't tell people things when they wanted to know. _

"_I...I...um...I never said I had a crush on him!" Patty repeated to her friends, Tsubaki giggling, Maka now somewhat intrigued by this conversation and Liz was there with a single perfectly threaded eyebrow raised in suspicion, even though she knew Patty's deep dark secret. Maka was still intrigued by Patty and her bright pink cheeks when something behind her caught her emerald eyes. 'Such a beautiful top' Maka thought to herself. It was yellow, with gold beading on the hem, in a crotchet style too. It was the most beautiful top Maka'd ever seen. Subconsciously walking towards it, through the little circle that they created Maka never lost eye contact of the gilded item of clothing, entranced by it's colour. It was after all her favourite colour - yellow. _

"_Hey Maka, where are you...ooh that's so pretty!" Tsubaki asked as she saw Maka gandering over the top, her eyes fixed onto it, finding it difficult to blink, but her eyes were in pain from not blinking at the same time and her whites started to dye red. "Maka. Maka! MAKA!" Tsubaki shrugged Maka's shoulders to get her back into reality. "Huh? Sorry Tsubaki, it's just... I NEED to buy this!" Maka exclaimed to her, to Tsubaki's surprise as she would never think of Maka to be interested in something like fashion. "You should get it it's awesome!" Liz added to Maka's positivity. She gazed over the clothes area and found some contrasting shorts to go with them. If it was something Liz thought to look good with another piece of clothing, then it was an excellent match. "Ahh acid blue - you can never go wrong with them" Liz further continued, but then saw Maka's uneased, skeptical face._

"_I don't know Liz, they look a bit short..." Maka replied to the Pistol Weapon._

"_Stop blabbering they'll look awesome! Now you're getting them whether you like it or not, I'll even buy them for you, it's not like it's my money anyway" Liz demanded to Maka, a serious expression in her tone..._

"Maka come on, we're gonna be late, Kid said he'll be here in two minutes with the limo" Soul shouted to his Meister, the oak door still closed. A turn of the golden polished door knob jolted Soul slightly as he saw Maka appear in the most beautiful outfit he'd ever seen on her. Her hair was wispy and laid back, her top slightly curved and her shorts proudly showing off her tall thin baby-smooth legs. "Wow... M...Maka you look amazing" Soul complemented to Maka, his eyes still fixed on her. "You look different without your black jacket on Soul, I kinda miss it on you" Maka replied back to him as she walked up to him and kissed his cheek lightly, teasing his skin. Soul turned his head in the direction of her face, smiled the same smile he usually did, slightly baring his pearly white teeth that matched his pearly white hair and drew his face closer to hers...

Eight light knocks rapped at the front door. "Maka? Soul? It's Kid, the limo is here I just came to call for you incase you didn't hear it from that far up". Drat. The only time they had for themselves alone for the whole night was ruined by Kid and his perfect eight knocks. "Come on then, let's go Soul" Maka said as she saw an opening in Soul's arm where he'd let her wrap her delicate limb around his, and cradled it tightly. Kid was dressed in his usual attire, with a slight change of the colour from his shirt being black to a cotton navy blue untucked shirt, one button undone at the top, the collars at the exact same angle, his trousers were the same colour, but they changed from the teflon-silk to thick denim and his shoes changed to black canvas shoes, logoed with his signature Death Mask emblem.

"Wow, Kid I've never seen you dress so casual" Soul said to him as soon as he saw him.

"Patty said it would look good, an astoundingly it did. I really do underestimate her sometimes." Kid politely replied back, a glow in his face. He felt different in these clothes, but Patty'd picked them out for him, probably from what Liz'd taught her about matching clothes. It felt weird for Patty to talk to him about clothes and male fashion, he usually did his own shopping or the occasional butt-in from Liz. He never really thought of Patty as someone being not only his second weapon and an attractive girl like her sister, not to mention pretty damn stupid at the same time but being knowledgeable about other things too.

As the three walked to the limo and entered they reunited with Liz, Patty, Tsubaki, Crona and …"Where's Black Star, Tsubaki?" Soul questioned, puzzled by his disappearance. He would never show up to an event without Tsubaki being there to agree with him on everything, even if it were just a little trip to a party. "I don't know, he said he went to go get some things for the party and never came back" Tsubaki replied, a deep worrying tone in her voice, but then she simply smiled. "I'm sure he's alright, he's Black Star after all he'll be fine" Tsubaki added.

'_Where has that idiot gone to now? He was meant to be coming to the party with us, after all he was the one who got us all in!''_ Soul thought to himself, angry by the fact his best friend wasn't there to do things with. Of course, he still had Maka though and adored every moment with her and counted them as blessings that would never end, but she was different from Black Star. They would do the craziest shit together than he and Maka could ever do. I mean, who else would dress like a bunch of idiots and parade through Death City attempting to look like characters from a comedic film which was somewhat a hilarious win at the same time looking epicly stupid, hundreds of people staring at them*. No, he could never do that with Maka. It was the bromance between he and Black Star that was too weird and freaky even for someone like Maka, who'd see weird and freaky too much over the past few years with Soul. She'd even see him putting his toenail clippings into a Fine China bowel her mama had sent her from her travels, with the punishment of the Maka chop and a three hour lecture on it's 'legacy'.

The limo didn't take that long to get to the party, but from the outside the whole place looked isolated. In a barren wasteland in the middle of a sunken desert lay a single grand building, everything had perfect symmetry, much to the extreme delight of Kid who's topaz eyes glowed a brilliant metallic gold, murmuring every symmetrical detail that he could find to himself whilst the other's slowly walked in without him. "Let him have his time to look at the building, he'll favour it more than the party" Liz explained to Maka and the others, Crona slightly nervous for this was his first party he'd ever been to and already had a fear of being in a crowd of people. Shame really, he still didn't know how to handle it even now.

"Where the heck is everyone?" Soul demanded as the group came in through the door, heavy bass music blasting through their ear holes, bottles of alcohol spread out onto tables of all types, all strengths and all units, but no one to be found except a couple of people and some random boxes that said 'TOOLS' in them. A sly face drew out from the corner of the room where the colour changing lights didn't hit. "Open the boxes first though, kid." the mysterious man said, obviously he wasn't from Death city, maybe some country from Europe by the hesitation of pronouncing some words in his voice. "Who the heck are you calling a kid? I'm 16!" Soul snapped back, ready to lunge at him but his body was forced back by Maka's strong grasp. "Tut, tut. Who's this little pixie then? Is she your _girlfriend_?" The blacked out figure asked him, still hiding most of his face in the shadow, but a silhouette of something peering out of his mouth that looked like a pencil. "Yeah. I am." Maka replied back to the question, a proud voice projected from her mouth, but at the same time it guarded Soul from the man's verbal attacks. She was willing to protect him this time, as he had done before countless times when battling Kishins, saving her from death and protecting her from her nightmares.

The recurring nightmares that she couldn't escape. The awful bright colours, bright colour followed by black, souls screaming at her, unable to translate as to what they were saying. Every night she would start to scream in her room and every night Soul would lift her up and put her into his bed on the opposite side of him. It was fine though, he had his girlfriend sharing the same bed with him even though they both had clothes on and just wanted to sleep. He would wait for Maka. Wait until the right time. He wasn't going to rush her into doing anything that she didn't want to.

"Well, well, well. I'll see if I can take your hands off of her and she be mine for the night" the man replied.

"That's a fat fucking chance you won't get to be in 10 metres of her when I'm here!" Soul shouted back at him, anger fuelled his words, hatred intertwined but was still paralysed by Maka's firm grip in his arm. She was the only reason he would not go up to that person and beat the crap out of him. He didn't want to be in fights anymore, not if he had a chance to escape them.

"Is this guy bothering you, Soul?" asked a very familiar voice from up high. "For I, the mighty Black Star will put an end to your misery!" Black Star was sitting gently on the industrial speakers fixed strongly onto the black painted wall. "Of course, I couldn't walk in with you guys, no one would notice me when I made my entrance, so I came early to surprise you all! HA HA HA!" Black Star laughed and gazed in the direction of his Weapon Tsubaki, hoping she would take some sort of notice. She look radiant in her clothes; high waisted black leather effect jeans and a cropped ivory top matching her ivory skin , her thick black locks let down in a grunged up way giving them some slight volume. Of course, he didn't dress up, it was only a party for goodness sakes, not a wedding and he thought he looked great anyway. It was his statement clothing and it needed to be that way for people to remember him for years to come after this night.

"Black Star, so that's where you've been!" Soul shouted up to him. "And no, he's not bothering me, we're finished talking" He glared at the mysterious man, his ox-blood eyes pierced into his cocoa brown ones.

"Ah, but Soul..." The man managed to pick up his name from Black Star. "...Soul, you still haven't opened the box" he said mockingly, a hint of excitement in his voice, but the excitement sounded evil and twisted, as if he was foreboding something. "Yeah whatever, what'll be in there, a bunch of spanners to hit me with? Pathetic" Soul replied back to him in a casual tone to match his casual personality. "Soul I wouldn't do that if i were you, I can sense something not right in there sweetie" Maka exclaimed, but it was too late, he'd opened it up to find about 20 Weapons all thrown onto one another, creeping out into their human form one by one. They were surrounded, each of them; Crona looked like he was about to wet his trousers; Liz was freaking out; Patty was subconsciously laughing; Tsubaki with Liz being frightened, Death still outside and Soul and Maka right smack bang in the middle, 20 weapons peering over them. 20 frightening 19 year old looking weapons who all looked like they had a bad attitude.

"Maka, Black Star, guys, come on, we're leaving I don't like this crowd" Soul whispered to his friends, pulling Maka closely to him, ready to protect her if needed. "Lookie here at the little itty-bitty one star Meister and Weapons... Well well well, look at who we have here guys, a celebrity among the babies!" A scary looking three star Weapon stared at Maka, his eyes fixated on her. He had tattoos all over his arms, snakes coiling up his arms and dead roses cascading down them. He had several piercings on his eyebrows, ears and nostrils making him more frightening. It made the group of one star Meisters and Weapons guess that he was the leader of their ridiculous cult. "Little Maka Albarn, the girl who defeated Asura the feared Kishin, the girl who stopped madness spreading all over the world. My, my I'm impressed." Maka hid herself behind Soul, still holding a firm grip on his shirt, she was frightened of what this Meister would do to them, but on the surface she was as daunting and brave as the others bar Crona who looked like he was on the verge of peeing himself.

"Just what the hell do you want with us you freak?" Black Star said as he jumped down to his friends in a crouching position, a stern expression on his face. He shot his eyes as the Weapons, and then back at Tsubaki who was comforting Liz, whispering to her minutely that everything would be fine. She then look at Black Star who stared into her eyes for a moment, a rush of blood swam through his entire body, and then she looked at him with a single nod as if she knew what he was thinking. Tsubaki knew Black Star too well to not know his plans he prepared. It was up to her to do something important. Something that could save them from this dreadful night.

"My goodness, what a rude mouth that kid's got on him, he needs to be punished for it" a female Weapon said, tattoos spiraling up her neck and hands, ending at her elbows, the impermeable ink scribing phrases in the dead language Latin. "Ha! That's funny as if someone like you could beat someone like me. It doesn't matter what star Weapon rating you are, I am the assassin who surpassed God so you can't..."

"Wow kid you really can't shut your loud ass mouth can you?" a ferocious looking male Weapon snapped back at him, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, three deep scars clawed onto his chin. He blanketed a tightened fist into the other, slow and quietly cracking his knuckles, a creepy smile erect on his face. They all had the same hand gesture, all had their hands in tightened fists, their thumbs tucked into their hands. These people looked like they knew how to fight, and Maka was afraid...


	9. Unconscious

_Author's note: Hmm... well after my best friend got mardy because I didn't give her a little 'shout out' in the author's note I told her I'd give her one. _

_So here it is you giant chicken nugget, may all of your Ciel pictures come alive and make you wear eye patches :P_

**Chapter 9 - Unconscious**

A bead of sweat ran down her head, fear pounding through it, prevailing over every part of her sanity and calm feeling she had, feeling her blood solidify to ice. She turned to the leader again and saw him changing part of his arm. He was a Naginata in weapon form, a thin metallic gold blade that look liked only the best of craftsmen could master the discrete thickness of the blade. "How should we start with first? The blondie at the back?..." The Naginata pointed to Patti with his weapon arm, she still unaware of the situation. "The annoying loud mouth at the front?..."

He continued and pointed his blade in front of Black Star's mouth, making Black Star swear and shout at him, threatening him if he didn't move it out of his face. "Or this trannie who looks like they're about a scare away from pissing themselves? Decisions. Decisions." As the Naginata finally pointed to Crona, who was sweating bullets, his teeth shattering, his limbs to each other. Apparently Ragnarok was too much of a scaredy cat to come out from Crona's shook up body. He must feel his immense fear and know not to come out.

"You touch Crona and you'll have to go through me first!" Maka exclaimed, now standing in front of Crona, protecting him, reassuring him, trying to calm him down as he was more frightened than he'd ever been. He felt more terrified than a prey running from his predator. He would rather face his mother a thousand times over when she was alive, torturing him, manipulating him, hurting him, than being here. He felt a little relief though when he was guarded by Maka. He knew he could always count on her for anything and ask for nothing in return. It's what he admired about her. She was his first friend and would always be her best friend, nothing more and nothing less. He didn't feel anything like that for her, but who's to say it wasn't for someone else?

"Ha. Don't make me laugh, you're nothing but a one star Meister who got lucky at defeating the greatest Kishin ever." He put his blade up to Maka's throat, as she gasped and a lump ran down it.

"Put. That. Fucking. Blade. Down. NOW." Soul commanded to the leader Weapon, his fist near his stomach, ready to turn into weapon form and stab him in the gut. His tone was angry, commanding and fearful, his teeth bared at him, his eyes darting the 19 year old's orange ones.

"Ooh I'm so scared. What are you going to do to me? You're pathet..." He felt a sharp thin object pierce his skin, sending his nerve endings stream wild around his body, aching all over. He fell to the floor, blood pouring out of body, creating a puddle there. It wasn't a deep wound, nothing fatal, but nothing to be classed as a 'kitten scratch either'. Still, it hurt.

Maka turned to Soul, shocked to see what he'd done. But it wasn't him. His hand wasn't covered in blood nor was it in his weapon form. "You BASTARD! You stabbed him!" A Weapon female with wild green hair shouted in Maka and Soul's direction, but it wasn't too them, it was directed to someone behind him. She spat through her teeth at every word, the whites of her eyeballs slowly turning red, tears slightly forming at her ducts. She directed it to someone who wasn't a someone, but a something. Something small, white and very, very annoying. "You could've killed him! You piece of shit, why if I ever get my hands..." She screeched like a banshee, bursting everyone's eardrums, tears pouring down her face as fast as the blood was pouring out of the Weapon's body.

"FOOL. Did you not realise that this person was going to murder the girl right in front of you?". It was excalibur. Black Star's face immediately cringed at the annoying Sword's voice, cursing himself to a hundred years worth of punishment exercises if he'd ever have to hear it again. _'Thank goodness Kid was outside, I don't think he'd have liked it in here any more than he wouldn't have done in the first place'_ Black Star thought to himself, trying to concentrate on what was happening, to escape Excalibur's appearance invading not only his physical being's being in the run down building, but in his mind too, scarring him for years to come.

"You'd let an innocent girl get killed by that man who was on the verge of eating her Soul?" Excalibur added, making not only Maka and Soul shocked, but everyone else and even Patti too who had come back down to earth from the animal kingdom where she liked to daydream off to. Maka's heart began to pound in sync with the music beats in the background, but it was not the pounding of the heart she'd always remember when she was with Soul, no. This was the pounding that signified her to be terrified. More terrified than facing Asura, more terrified than when she thought Soul'd died all those years ago in Italy

"How the heck did YOU get in here?" A voice began to crack from the distance, followed by a cringed face, their eyes squinted in embarrassment. So Death the Kid had finally come in, with may a shock that could send him into cardiac arrest. A man was lying unconscious on the floor, the gang was surrounded by some very pissed off Weapons and what's worse, Excalibur the Holy Sword was there. His nightmares were sure to come back for a good month or two again.

"That doesn't matter now, we'll squish him" A gasp was spread all across the room as the girl with the Latin tattoos hissed at Kid, Patti giving her a stern look, looking at him feeling prepared to fight for him if he were in any danger just as Soul did with Maka. Liz was still scared and there was nothing that Tsubaki could do that would calm her down. "Get. Them. Get them ALL" She hissed once again and they rest of the three star Weapons drew themselves into the group.

"NOW TSUBAKI!" Black Star shouted and at that exact moment, Tsubaki went into her Smoke Bomb form and in an instant, a thick grey fog, like the thickest of the London Peasouper's whirled around the entire room as the young Meisters and Weapons tried to make their run for the door. Without luck. As soon as the fog began to disperse and evaporate into the air outside, they could all see each other being grabbed by an older weapon, each being bared their captive's weapon at their neck, some ancient African and European swords, some different types of blades, some industrial looking objects that even Maka didn't know of. Maka looked at Soul as he had a Shaska pointed horizontally at his jugular, trying to slowly break free from the grasp of the male Weapon who possessed him, not to mention about 60 piercings that rimmed his clavicle bone and right shoulder. She didn't understand how someone would find that attractive, and hoped that someone would be able to withstand his stabbed skin and the metal that clung to it like bells in a church tower.

"Trying to run away were we? Clever move there girl, but you're too weak to get away from us" The mysterious man had re immersed himself from the background and began to talk again, this time at Tsubaki, the pencil in his mouth pointed to her direction. Tsubaki stood there frozen as an arrow pointed to her throat from the Weapon who has overpowered her. "Yes, I know who you are. You're from the Nakatsukasa clan in Japan, the family of demonic weapons. I've heard your weapon forms are legendary. You even defeated your own brother and killed him to absorb his power. My goodness you're greedy aren't you?" He finished, a crooked smile appeared on his face and began to chuckle darkly to himself.

"It's not like that at all! You don't understand ANYTHING!" Tsubaki screamed, and with that she once again used her Smoke Bomb skill and used it as a cover up to try and get away. Her arm went into Enchanted Sword mode as she sliced the Weapon who captured her at the stomach giving them a deep horizontal cut, ready for him to hurl over and cling his sides. Luckily, her accuracy was rewarded, but with a near miss of her esophagus as she felt the arrow cut at her skin, missing her only way to breathe by millimetres. She ran through the door as fast as she could, surprisingly not thinking of how the others would be able to get out and forced her legs to never stop moving forwards. She could see Death city just over a high sand dune where the turret of the DWMA resided, showing it's helpful eyesore to Tsubaki. She ran as fast as she could, her arm still still as the Enchanted Sword, never looking back but all the while thinking of her friends...

"Let her go, she was nothing" The man with the pencil said as the fog once again began to disappear. "As for the rest of you who were too stupid enough to use her... get away... shall I say to your advantage. We have something better for all of you. Something.. comique... shall I say?" The man stared at Maka, who was oblivious to what he was implying. "What shall we do with them? There are plenty of rooms here" The female Weapon who tended to the injured Weapon's wound whispered, a sense of humor ringed in her banshee-like voice. She had put thick white bandages around his body trying to hold the pressure down, which were drowning in red liquid, turning darker as more of it was pumped out his body spreading rapidly over the white cloth. It was likely that this Weapon would not make it, an Excalibur was a murderer.

"Split them up. Put them in the rooms. You, and blondie number 2" The am pointed to Crona and Liz, who were equally as terrified now "You can put them in that room" He pointed a cadaverous finger at a door at the far end of the other room. Trying to wriggle herself free without luck, Liz was dragged along side Crona into a dimly lit room, with only 2 moth eaten blankets inside, a half broken table and a bottle of alcohol. "The same goes for Soul, Blondie number one, the pale kid and the toy thing who stabbed our dear friend over there" With each name he labelled to the young Meister and Weapons his pencil in his mouth moved into each of their directions. Their captives pulled them into the door next to Crona and Liz, Soul looking back, trying to find Maka and his best friend.

"Soul!" Maka screamed as she saw her partner being pulled away by force, trying to wriggle herself free without any luck. "Maka! It's okay, I'm gonna be fine, we're all gonna be fine! I'll get out of this and come get..." A loud thud sprang from Souls head as the hammer Weapon who was dragging him away hit him hard on the head, sending him unconscious. "YOU BASTARD!" Black Star screamed, running forward to see revenge on the hammer Weapon, without luck as the man stepped in front of him and quickly pushed him with immense power to the floor. "Don't even think about running away or trying to get out of my grasp. It'll end badly."

"Soul! Soul! Soul!" Maka screamed over and over again, Black Star twitching on the floor, trying to get himself up without any luck. "What did you do...to...h..him?!" Maka screeched, tears gushing down her face as she saw Soul being thrown into a room with dim light, dirty furniture and unsanitary furniture. "He's just unconscious, little Albarn..."

"I'M. NOT. LITTLE!" Maka screamed in his face as she hit the Weapon whom grabbed her by the arm, ducked down before he could damage her with his weapon arm turned around and kicked him hard in the stomach, running for the man ready to hit him as hard as she could. The mysterious male merely put his arm out as she fell into it and smacked her head on the dry ground, falling beside Black Star who was to weak to get himself up from that attack.

"Get them up. Put them in the abattoir outside. It should be cosy for them both. We can't have his ear aching pipe hole firing everywhere, and her screeches giving us migraines now can we?" He finally said as he clicked his fingers and Maka and Black Star were dragged out onto the sand the moon laughing at them as blood regurgitated out of it's mouth and they were put into a tiny room, the smell of rotting flesh overpowering their nostrils, Maka's eyes watered and stung.

There was once again, a light bulb that hung itself pathetically in the middle of the room, the plastic that bound itself around the bulb has stained yellow and cracked in parts, plastic chipping off whenever it was switched on. The bulb itself had little power and you could only see a few metres in circumference from where it'd shone and in the middle stood a table with a bottle of alcohol and 2 destroyed blankets, one black and the other a dirty yellow. A dirty yellow like the colour of smoker's teeth, that supposedly was originally white, but Maka was unclear considering there was no ounce of white to be found on it.

It didn't matter at the moment. She needed to get out. She was with Black Star who couldn't help her that much. If only he were a Weapon instead the situation would've been much easier to understand. The two Meisters were through as equally as hard as Soul and the rest of them were into the rooms that they dwelled in. "Now, what shall we do with you two. Obviously we can't let a nation treasure like you..." He trailed off, looking at Maka, standing in the doorway where the light didn't hit his face nor any other part of his body, but she caught a glimpse of some spiky fair coloured hair. He put his hand presumably into his pocket and shook some sort of canister that clinked around small objects. Pills.

"Open their mouths wide, and don't let them bite you, I hear his bite is actually worse than his bark" He ordered to the two naive weapons, who had no idea that he was going to go this far. But they didn't say anything and just obeyed their boss. Maka and Black Star were too weak to do anything at that moment, their heads were both dizzy and all Maka wanted to do right now was to be with Soul. She felt small round powdery objects enter her mouth as her saliva drowned each one of them and her mouth was forced shut. She turned her head as she felt the pills slowly falling down her throat and Black Star shared the same fate as she did. She saw tens of dark green pills going into his mouth and then the older Weapon attempting to snap it shut without luck.

"Get the bottle and make him drink it, I want them all down his throat. Same goes for her, she might cough them up" He once again ordered, the imperative stood strong and she felt the footsteps vibrate on the ground she was standing on. A female weapon got the bottle of clear liquid and began to pour it down Maka's throat. She could taste the bitter, strong alcohol swimming around her mouth like water in a river bed and had no other option but to swallow it, her head wriggling at the taste of the alcohol going down it, making her cringe and cough. She saw Black Star once again share her fate and saw the unnamed substance forced into his mouth as it gushed everywhere, like the plunge pool of a waterfall, some going in one way; some splashing the other. She could see him gulp and they were both thrown onto the floor, Maka's head hit the hard dirt with sheer force, thankful that she managed to use her rear end as a quick landing before her head hit it like it'd done before. Black Star was thrown backwards and his huge head hit the poorly manufactured table, bits of wood smashed every where, splinters flying all around, a thick one missing her eye by an inch. "That should last for about an hour, don't worry kid's you'll be fine" The man chuckled in the distance to himself once again and the two older Weapons went through the door and bolted it shut from the outside...

"AHH!" Soul screamed from inside the room, his arm turned it his scythe form, trying to break the door open, but his hits merely left a scratch on it. "So they have the crappiest furniture every, but they have reinforced doors. The heck is that all about?" He started to hit the door open again, Death the Kid panicking, Patti looking all over to try and find some way out and Excalibur dangling his legs from the table. "Fool." Excalibur exclaimed and then stood up from his childlike position to one of a leader, his can thumped lightly onto the broken table. "Did you not know what these doors are made out of platinum? Not even your scythe metal can get through them. Of course, someone like me could do it any day. If I wanted to."

"THEN DO IT ALREADY! DON'T LET US STAY WITH YOU ANY LONGER" Kid shouted at him, his topaz eyes filled with rage and anger.

He detested the Holy Sword with every feeling of hatred he had. No greater hate went to anyone but Excalibur, even the slightest gaze upon his failed arts and crafts face make Kid cringe. He stared over at Patti who was looking around the place, her thin waist twisting in all directions, her flexibility was astounding. He stared at her obviously until he felt as slight poking of a thin blade tip on his arm. "What are you staring at Kid?" Soul asked him, lowering his blade and thankfully seeing there was no hole or he'd face Kid's screaming that he'd have enough of for a lifetime.

"Nothing. I wasn't staring at anything" Kid replied back quickly, his eyes darted into another direction. "Fool" Excalibur said to Patti as she turned around, her hair whipped in her face and her sapphire eyes glistened into Kid's liquid gold ones, and then to Excalibur's. "Huh? What's wrong little guy?" she asked him

"Fool. Do you not know that there is a ninety nine per cent chance that we can't get out of here?" he snapped back at her, her facial expression turned from optimistic to shocked. "But there's always that one per cent chance that we can get out of here then?" Patti politely replied back, her eyes filled with joy as she returned to her optimistic ways.

Soul and Kid couldn't help but agree with her that nothing was impossible in life and that there was still a chance to get out of here. Kid looked around at Patti again, her golden hair reflected the light from the lightbulb, and shone onto the wall closest to the next room. "It's porous." Kid said as he examined and he grabbed Soul's arm and began to turn the blade and reflect it onto the wall. "Hey Kid what the heck are you doing? Wait.. what did you say?" Soul questioned him, confused as to why the young Reaper was holding his scythe. "It's a porous wall, meaning it can be broken with some force" Kid replied back, a devious, cunning plan sketched into his mind. "Soul, you know what to do, unfortunately Patti would make too much noise and we could be caught in the act, but you can cut through the wall silently. We won't ask him to do anything, he wouldn't do it anyway" Kid stared at Soul, nodded his head and then glared at Excalibur in deteste.

"Sure, it'll be as easy as slicing a piece of cake" He tried to concentrate on what he was doing and began to chip away at the wall; but all he could think about was his girlfriend, his Maka...

"We're gonna die for sure in here! It's dark, it's cold and I want to go back to the DWMA!" Crona cried in his hands petrified of what would happen next. He and Liz cowered away, covering themselves on the blankets, but she didn't embrace him or even comfort him. She'd never really talked to him before and being the son of the late Medusa Gorgon gave her more the reason to keep her distance. She didn't know what to say to him, let alone how to react to him. Still though, he was the only company she had at that moment and was not going to let that go to waste. "Crona, come on, we'll be fine. Tsubaki's gone and I bet she'll find help" She reassured him, without luck as he still moped about, tears dripping from his delicate tear ducts and splattered the floor like the start of a rain storm. Crona lifted his head up, wiped the liquid from his face with his shirt sleeve and turned to Liz. "Do you think so? I mean it's so dark in here and I'm so scared, I don't know what to do!" he whelped

"Oh please..." A mist of purple and black intertwined emitted from the back of Crona's body as the petite figure of the Demon Sword Ragnarok came out of hiding and began to poke Crona on the head, making his twitch all over. "...You really think that you couldn't do anything when you've got me here? You dummy!" Ragnarok explained to him, but then was butte in by Liz "Then why weren't you there in the first place trying to help us escape from this hell hole?!" She shouted at him, punching the creature in the head. "Why I ought to...!" Ragnarok shouted at her, his tar-like hand curled into a fist, but as he was about to lunge for Liz, her arm shielding her face Crona lifted his own hand up and pocketed Ragnarok's hand around his.

"Don't touch her she didn't do anything to you!" Crona told his Weapon partner, his whole body still trembling. "Shut up pip squeak, you're only saying that because you have a crush on her!" He snapped back at him, revealing a secret, shocking Liz and Crona. "I...I don't have a crush on her! Liz he's making up stories, don't believe him!" He cowered into his arms and placed his head into his knees. "You're pathetic sometimes, you know Crona? How many times do I have to see you dreaming about blonde hair and blue eyes and a bubbly attitude? It's obvious!"

'_Was it true what Ragnarok was saying? Did Crona really have a crush on me? I mean, yeah I have blonde hair and blue eyes, but a bubbly attitude, no way, when have I ever been bubb...'_ Liz thought to herself as she put two and two together and the cogs in her head clicked at what Ragnarok was saying. Ooh this was too exciting for her. "Ragnarok, I don't think it's me he has a crush on. I think it's..." And with that, Liz places her hands over her mouth and put them up to his ear, making sure Crona didn't know what she'd discovered so he'd be more intact with the world than upset; to prevent the cyclical event that's been happening for the past hour. "Now go back into Crona, I don't think he wants you out here for the while, okay?" she asked with a chipper attitude.

Liz gandered at the door and wondered to herself what the others were doing. What's more she worried about Patti and her safety. She was her only family and even though they were in rooms next to each other, it felt as if she were a thousand miles away, as if someone was trying to break their sisterly bond, trying to destroy their family tie. She would never let that happen. If anything ever happened to Patti she would never forgive herself, the thought of it felt like there was a piece of her heart missing, like someone had ripped it out. That piece of her heart belonged to her sister, and only her sister.

Yeah she had a crush on someone, someone whom she'd known for a long time, she was at that age now to think about boys and crushes, since the Kishin was defeated she had more time to focus on other things besides the world ending. It was only natural for a beautiful young woman that Liz is to challenge herself on the battles of life. She was 17 for goodness sake!

"What's that sound?!" Liz quietly squealed to Crona, shaking him intensely, there was a sharp screeching noise coming from the wall which terrified the living daylights out of Liz and Crona felt his lungs turn to brick and felt like the couldn't breath. Oh god. He could feel himself about to pee his trousers. "Ahh!" Crona whelped and ran to a dark corner of the room as he was seconds away from embarrassment. Liz could hear a zip in use and then the pitter patter on liquid going onto the floor. She could hear Crona taking a pee. "Eww Crona oh my God that's disgusting get a room!" She quietly shouted to him, hoping her voice would overpower the sound of him relieving himself, with some luck. "Uhh.. Liz I'm so sorry I couldn't help it! Would you rather have me go to the loo where you can't see me, or sit beside me and have me wet myself?" Crona asked her. The ultimatum was easy to decide though, she'd rather live through the 30 second pain of hearing him rather than the 3 hour pain of being beside him whilst he reeked of urine.

Liz heard the sound again just after Crona had finished and returned back to where she was. The sound was getting louder, more near to them as she gripped onto him tightly, Crona shocked by the movement Liz had made on him, and then hearing the sound gave him more fear and clung to her as well. The wall in the cell they were in began to break through and slowly fall to the floor. Miraculously the torn blankets were next to the wall, so the impact of the concrete falling wouldn't have a large enough impact sound for anyone to come into and see what was happening.

"This is it, Crona I think we're gonna DIE!" Liz exclaimed, tears running down her face, not as nearly fast as Crona's, but still, she was shaking. The concrete dropped onto the blanket and left a hole in the wall, dust over where, faint silhouettes of bodies crouched over, silent as the night. "Liz? Crona?" a faint worried hush spoke to them, but at the same time Liz knew who's voice it was and a sense of relief. "Kid? Is that you?" Liz looked up as the thick fog of dust wiped away and she saw a familiar figure that made her spirits rose. Her Meister. "Oh my!" Liz expressed in a silent tone, wiping her tears away, still holding Crona with one arm.

"Thank god you're okay, we were so worried... I was so worried" she continued, her eyes searching for her sister. "Liz?" Patti quiet asked in the distance, behind Soul and Kid. She slithered through the rubble like a watery snake, emerging from the darkness and found her sister cowering on the floor. The hole in Liz's heart was restored as she reunited with her dumbfound sister, and hugged her tightly, still shaking like she'd done with Crona. "Come on guys, you can talk this over later, but we're getting out of here now" Soul whispered, and began to hit the wall hard that would lead to the vast wasteland; to Maka and Black Star... _'Maka I'm coming for you, don't worry'_' Soul repeated to himself over and over again, the wall crumbling beneath him...

_Earlier that evening..._

"_Heh. Heh. D..D'you... want...some more... of this...l..l...lovely...'water'?!" Maka asked Black Star, intoxicated by the drugs dissolving in her stomach, strong alcohol flowing through her bloodstream, destroying her innocent liver. Her breaths were heavy, followed by several hiccups, laughter and then loud coughs after each swig of the bottle. She passed it to Black Star who was as equally drugged up and drunk as her, unable to think for himself, unable to make correct decisions. He went with his contemporary instincts: _'laugh a lot and keep drinking - you're thirsty' _the declarative ran through his head as quick as the alcohol was streaming down his throat. His eyesight was slightly blurred for the drugs that were forced down him impaired most of his senses; his sense to see, his sense to touch... his sense to think properly. _

"_Y...*hiccup*... yeah, t...thank you m... my dear" Black Star replied back as he grabbed the bottle from Maka and gulped it like a horse drinking from stream in an old western movie, some of it missing his mouth, dripping down his jawline and chin. After placing the bottle down on the almost broken table he blew a raspberry in her face, attempted to rise up from his crouch and tripped over himself, his knees shaking, Maka laughing wildly, unaware of anything else happening in the room. Black Star rolled over, hiccuping all the while, to Maka's side tipsily looking at her flawless face. "Oooooh Maka! *hiccup* yo...you know something?" He asked her, a childish smile on his face as Maka was making fish lips, her head spinning around whilst her hand reached for the bottle to drink more. _

_She turned to him and morphed her fish expression back to normal, her head tilting to the side, hiccuping quickly, her body jolting up and down from the stomach upwards as she was sitting down. "Yeah Bl..ack S...Star? What's the m...matter?" She replied to him back and returned the raspberry blowing, saliva spraying everywhere, some splattered on his face without the assassin realising. "You're reeeeal purty you know" he told her, crawling on the floor straining his neck up to her face. "Black Star... you know. You're really, really. Funny" She slapped her hands to the floor like a child in hysterics. "S...sometimes, you know?" Maka began to laugh to herself, unaware of what was going on. _

"_Reeeeally pretty Maka. Gimme a kiss" The intoxicated Meister said to her, oblivious to what he was saying, craning his neck up so his head would meet hers. "Black Star, you know octopus head is..." She placed her hands down again, one accidentally falling on his knee "...My boyfriend" She stared at him like a 6 year old infant, a childish frown on her face, but then bend itself into a smile as she began to laugh again. "Come on Maka, gimme a kissss" Black Star hissed at her and then the unexpected happened to Maka. She felt Black Star's rough lips firmly forced onto hers, his hands on her cheeks, she was unable to move her mouth. She couldn't think of anything but the feeling of his lips on hers, her drunken mind spinning everywhere. _

_Feeling his lips on hers; her intoxicated state; her unstable mind whizzing every where, made Maka forget about everything, and everyone and decided to go with what Black Star was doing. He didn't know what he was doing either, oblivious to his actions and the consequences. He ran his fingers down her sides as she grabbed his top and lifted it up and over his head, sluggishly throwing it to the floor, falling into the blackness. He felt her smooth skin as he took off her top wheezily, hiccuped and kissed her sloppily once again..._

_Three hours later..._

"Think they're...done?" a Weapon hissed outside of the shack, laughing evilly to her conrad. They looked at each other for a moment, a creepy smile on their faces as they opened the door to snoop inside. Sleeping off their drugged up bodies on the floor, the filthy blankets covering them, remarkably fully clothed Black Star and Maka were sleeping on opposite ends of the room. "Wow, they were at each other for who knows how long, and now they're like repelled magnets" She darkley laughed at him, both of them still watching them sleep like it was an unusual fetish. "What shall we do with them?" The male Weapon asked the female, his arm in weapon form that of a distorted looking monkey wrench. "Not sure, but all I have one..." Two quiet sounds cracked the soundwaves of the desert, leaving an echo, and two bodies lying on the floor, blood spewing out of their backs. Kid blew the top of his Pistol Weapons and polished the end with a handkerchief he'd always bring around with him no matter where he'd go. "That sorted them out" Kid whispered to his Weapons as they transformed silently back into human form beside him and Soul, who still had his Scythe as his arm, running in to find Maka. "Will it kill them Kid? I don't wanna be labelled as a murderer" Liz asked him, a worried tone in her voice whilst Patti went in with Soul to find Maka and Black Star. "No, unfortunately. But it will knock them out for several hours though" He replied back to her, and they both rushed in to meet up with Soul and Patti to rescue the Meisters.

"Maka? Maka come on, get up, Patti get Black Star up will you?" Soul asked her as he shrugged his girlfriend to wake her up with no luck. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her outside, his Scythe arm returned to human form. Walking out into the desert, with no lift home and only the moon as their guide back to Death City, Soul carrying a fatigued Maka in his arms, whilst Black Star was being dragged by Liz and Patti, Death the Kid on Beelzebub at the back of them and Crona trailing far behind, occasionally falling into the dunes, they ran as fast as they could from the prison they were trapped in, petrified of looking back.

"Where's that little guy gone, Kid?" Patti asked Kid, a chipper expression on her face to try and lighten the mood, but didn't seem to work as Kid was nearly on the edge of collapsing from exhaustion. "I don't know and I don't care at this moment Patti" Kid snapped at her, Patti's face drooped down like a bulldog as she turned her head around and dragged Black Star with an oblivious Liz back home.

"S..Soul?" Maka asked, her eyes slowly opening, and then shutting, her head falling back into his shoulder.

"Ssh Maka it's gonna be okay, we're gonna be okay, we're fine" Soul hushed her back and kissed her forehead. At that moment of his lips on hers she remembered what had happened. She remembered how intoxicated she was, she remembered what she did with Black Star. Her most sinful secret now weighed her down like a bag full of boulders. She looked at the moon and frowned, her frown lines drew on her forehead, her heart flustered, uncomfortable and panicking, she shut her eyes one last time, and never reopened them for the rest of their journey home...

Meanwhile...

"What shall we do with them, they're getting away" asked the three star Weapon who bore the Latin tattoos, her head moving impatiently at them and the mysterious man she was standing next to from the entrance of the old building. He picked a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and took the pencil out of his mouth and began to draw musical notes on the paper, much to the confusement of the Weapon. "Let them get away. I've had enough fun tonight" He turned to the Weapon, and in the moonlight his white teeth and pointed hair shone slightly, giving away to the Weapon his only features she could see. "They'll get what's coming to them..."


	10. Pain

_author's note: So this is the chapter where we meet up with the start of the beginning of the fan fic, hope it's interesting enough! And sorry for the late update, just finished all of my exams now I've nothing to do until September! _

Chapter 10 - Pain

"_Ssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Black S...Star you're so..." the voice whispered in a dimly lit room, the assassin as intoxicated as they were, as their hands clasped to the sides of their head, thinking of what to say next, their eyes rolled down to meet his once again. "So...bad" the voice finished with a tease in their voice as they approached his face closer, but as they did they couldn't see his face, but of Soul Eater Evans, cuts and bruises on his silky skin, tears in his eyes..._

"SOUL!" Maka shouted in the pitch back room as she sheepishly hunted around for her lamp light and switch it on to find her door knob turning and Soul hastened into her room and sat beside her in her bed, wearing only his boxers, his scar still visible after all this time. "Maka..." Soul yawned as his arms stretched up high into the air and returned to look at her tired face and red rings under her eyes. "Did you have another nightmare?" he asked her as he placed his hand on hers, a small attempt to comfort her.

He'd been waking up every night for two weeks at roughly the same hour of 3am, but he was getting agitated every night that his routine had to happen. Fourteen times he'd woken up at that ridiculous hour and Maka hated herself for it. She could see the deep plum circles painted under his eyes like thick eye liner at a heavy metal rock concert, and the way he sluggishly worked at school because he couldn't get back to sleep for another two hours after that, fearing she would have another nightmare. Maka'd tried everything to stop her nightmares: sedatives; lavender bags; camomile tea; even Chinese acupuncture to see if there were agitated muscles that contributed to her vicious dreams.

"Soul, I'm sorry. You need to get back to sleep, it's depriving you, it's me being selfish... Yes it was another nightmare..." She replied back to him, tears emerging at the corners of her grass green eyes, hiding her face in her sweat-dampened hair. "We've got to do something about these Maka. It's not good for you, you're doing bad at school. Of course not as bad as me or Black Star..." A shot of pain ran through Maka's heart as he said his name whilst looking into Maka's eyes. She could see his face in Soul's eyes. The bruised, drunk looking face with the bloody smile that cursed her dreams. She couldn't tell him. She wouldn't tell him. It'd ruin him. It'd ruin his relationship not only with his girlfriend but also his best friend.

She hadn't talked to Black Star much since the incident. She couldn't even look at his face, for all she saw when she saw were the heart wrenching memories of that night. She hated herself for it, and hated him just as equally. They should've been smarter. The two best Meisters currently serving as pupils at the DWMA and they could do nothing except be the defenceless damsels in distress. It proved in the realisation that Maka wasn't this fiercely strong young woman as she at times thought she was and that she did need help as well. She couldn't remember much of what happened on the journey home: if they'd been attacked again, how long it took, if everyone was all right...

"Maka. You need to see someone about these dreams. These nightmares..."

"I know, I know" Maka replied back tiredly and looked at Soul with half open eye lids. Every thought, every feeling, every emotion went through her when she looked at him. His innocent soul had been obliviously torn into a thousand pieces by the one who he loved. "So..." Soul added and placed his arms in the air as he yawned and bared his fang like teeth for them to be re sealed by his lips. "...After school today we'll go to a therapist office and book you an appointment..."

"...Soul I can't afford that it's like $350 dollars an hour!" She quickly forced back at his thought not only because she truly hadn't the money for it but she didn't want to go to a therapist. That would mean telling the truth behind her nightmares. And if Soul were to be there if she told the doctor she'd slept with his best friend and not told him about it that would be it. No turning back. She couldn't bare to see herself doing it. She couldn't bare the thought of losing him, his friends laughing at him because he was so stupid not to know the truth. He wouldn't be able to trust anyone and a deep friendship would be quickly lost. Maybe even a life.

No. She wouldn't tell him. Not ever.

"Maka I'll pay for you I have the money..." Soul was interrupted by Maka's gentle lips pressed against his. It felt somewhat rushed and a desperate attempt for him to stop talking. Did she want him not to pay for the therapy sessions? Did she not want to get rid of her nightmares? Was this some sort of joke for him to wake up every night and see her? Was that it? Was Maka attention seeking? Impossible. It wasn't in Maka's nature to do something like this. Ever since the party from hell she'd been acting like this. She placed one palm onto his cheek and slowly took it off as his lips departed from hers. "What was that for?" Soul added his emotions intertwined by passion and fatigue. He stared at Maka who'd concealed her face with her sandy coloured hair.

"Soul..."

"Yeah Maka?" He replied demanding in his head for her to answer his quiet simple to reply question.

"Soul. You're everything to me. You are my world. You're the only one that matters to me and I will never hurt you" Maka lied the last thought aloud to her boyfriend and lifted her head up to meet his rubies with her emeralds.

"I...I love you, Soul" She carefully forced out of her mouth. She did love him. She loved him more than anything but she was still filled with regret after she said it. If she'd loved him more than she did now she would have had the strength to stop herself from infidelity. "What?" Soul gasped back to her wondering if he'd heard her right. Soul had loved many a girl before he met Maka, but that didn't mean he was in love. Until now. Now he truly was in love with the one he was with. He loved Maka more than he loved his mother, father and Wes put together. More than any man had ever loved any woman. More than anybody had ever loved any other. "Soul Evans. I love you. I love being with you. I am in love with you and you are the only one for me. I know we're in a relationship but it's okay if you're not in love with me ba..."

Soul's lips joined onto Maka's passionately as her placed his arms around her dainty waist whilst she wrapped hers around the soft skin of his neck. Her hate, despair and all other negative emotions melted away at that moment. This kiss felt different though. It felt deeper than any other she'd experienced with him (which was a lot!). It showed true emotion and could tell a thousand stories over and over of their time they've been with each other since the day they met. She thought of that day - when he was playing the piano in a strikingly well tailored suit and his snowy hair let loose making Maka all the more attracted to him. Nothing in the world mattered at that moment except right now. She was Soul's and Soul was her's. She parted for breath and commenced again but a solemn finger cushioned itself between their lips and landed on Maka's.

"Maka you are the most amazing, beautiful and intelligent girl I've ever met. But sometimes you can be really blind. Maka, I love you. I'm in love with you and nothing will ever change it. I'll go where you want to, I'll stay if you want me to stay, I'll love you forever, even in death" Tears overwhelmed Maka and began to creep into her eyes. She'd never felt like this before. she'd never felt such a strong emotion as love and it overpowered her making her want to love Soul more than she could right now.

Maka began kissing him again and traced her lips down his body ignoring his deep scar where smooth skin resided at the edges and put her hands on his arms and pulled him onto her messy bed and returned to kissing him on the lips once more whilst one of his hands was intertwined with her hair and the other just below her neck. He could feel her hands moving down the sides of his body sending shivers up his spine from the cold air in the room and Maka's warmth leaving him. He could feel her hands slowly peeling away the top of his boxers from his skin when he stopped. Was Maka about to do it with him? Did she want to or was it a spur of the moment and adrenaline going through her. Either way now wasn't the best place - they were both tired and Maka would be late to school and regret it.

"Maka. Not now. If we do then we'll not be able to go to school on time if we're tired." Soul hesitantly said with regret. Using Maka's weakness against her was cruel in this situation but he was right - now was not the time at all. Not just because it was late but because he didn't want to think she was doing this because he just admitted his feelings for her.

"You're right. Sorry." Maka sadly replied back as she moved her hands away from the only clothing on his body. "But why don't you sleep in my bed with me tonight? It's big enough for both of us and I promise I won't try to do anything!" She giggled and pulled the bed sheets away from the top of the bed to let her boyfriend it. It was pretty late and Maka did need to sleep after all. Questioning this temptation to himself he just gave up out of his fatigue state and slid into the other side of the soft Egyptian duvet Maka's mama had gotten her on yet another of her travels.

It smelt of Maka. The smell of a sweet fragrance he loved and adored over in secret so Black Star or anyone else wouldn't laugh at him, but he just couldn't resist it. "Maka?" Soul questioned and he turned his neck to where she was but she didn't reply. He moved silently closer towards her to see why she wasn't answering only to find her sound asleep, her face snuggled into the side of a pillow like a lolita child on a bed of lilac candy floss, and kissed her softly on the cheek and switched off her lamp and his letting only the moon give him light in the room. "Good night Maka" Soul whispered to himself as he wrapped his arms around her waist and closed his eyes...

_Four hours later..._

…"Soul Evans I swear it's every morning that I have to get you up!" Maka complained as she prodded him awake whilst screaming in his ear for the sixth time. Their little 'rendez-vous' (which wasn't really a rendez-vous more of a near-baiser) had slammed the sleep wall hard for him yet again. "SOUL IF YOU DO NOT GET UP NOW...!" She shouted at him for now seemed to be the 600th time he slurred around in his half asleep half awake situation. "Maka I'm too tired to go to school. Go on without me" Soul groaned, relieved that she had finished attempting to burst his ear drum.

"Oh no you're not! You're going to school whether you like it or not even if I must drag you there and make you look all embarrassed in front of everyone because a girl is pulling a boy on the gravel by the scruff of his collar" She snapped back at him when he turned to see her arms crossed her expression angry and yet she was already dressed at quarter past seven. "Maka there's no way you'd get me out of this thing. For one it's not my bed so the better. Secondly you owe me for waking me up every night..." Maka's angry expression changed to an embarrassed one. And thirdly I've got some personal business to attend to today anyway and I never go to school on this day since he had started in Kindergarten. Fourth of July each year was always bad for him yet he never told anyone why.

"Okay sweetie if you need to then...as annoyed as I am and as much as my throat hurts... you can skip today" She bent her head down and lightly kissed him on his and headed for her bedroom door "I'll be back a little later, going to the library to get a book with Kid so I'll be home around five okay?" She told him with a chipper expression before almost closing the door on him. "Love you, Soul" Maka sighed and closed the oak door and headed for school without him...

"Ugh. Great." Soul groaned to himself as he got out of Maka's comfy bed and headed to the blazing white bathroom. It wasn't a small room nor was it large – it had a very contemporary theme to it with the white marble tiles, two white marble sinks – one for Maka and the other for Soul – a large ivory bathtub that resembled a shell of an exotic nut and a chrome finished power shower set with an infinite amount of temperatures to have from the twist of the dial. Not to mention the shelves Maka had spent nearly the whole day putting up with Kid because the angle wasn't perfect and the distance between them from the adjacent walls was _''off scale by three millimetres''. _

Soul never really took much notice of the decorations and furnishings of the house unlike his partner who cared deeply about the appearance of their homestead and made sure everything was spotless.

Soul darted his eyes around the many shelves looking for his face wash like an explorer in a deserted oasis in the middle of no where. Finally finding it after Maka re sorted the shelves yesterday evening he came across something he'd never seen before. A thin silver chain with a heart shaped locket that dangled pathetically from it swinging all over the place and twisting the semi-precious metal like a woven rope making the loop that Souls thumb and forefinger held onto. Placing the locket in the palm of his pale hand he opened it to reveal a picture inside of Maka and Kami- Maka's mama who Soul had never met nor seen before in his life.

She was a pretty woman with wavy blonde hair and a mild tan, not to mention glistening green eyes like Maka's but there was something about them that segregated her eyes from Maka's. They looked fierce and proud but daring too where as Maka's were filled with happiness, adrenaline and passion – something that distinguished Maka's eyes from any others he'd ever seen, something that he could not resist. A flush of excitement ran straight to Soul's heart when ever he thought of her, her hair, her eyes, her smile.

Then he thought of his childhood, his memories. The love that spread throughout his beating heart had been replaced with something evil and cruel, stabbing it wherever it had not already pierced. He remembered of this day 13 years ago when he was only a child. Sweet, innocent and oblivious to what would happen next...

"_Hey mom! Look at the fireworks aren't they pretty, mom?" A small white haired child asked a young looking woman with snowy blonde hair and chestnut brown eyes whilst tugging on her ironed trouser leg to get her attention. "Yes sweetie, but they're not as pretty as you, now look! Look! Here comes the big finale!" The youthful woman clapped her hands and pointed in the air the blazing fireworks to her small child, his father at the other side of him with the boy's elder brother on his shoulders to get a better view. He stared at the fireworks going up into the sky and waited for the bang to erupt from them. The child roard with cheer with his father and sibling as the crowd cheered with excitement, but as the child turned to his mother so hug her, he saw her lying on the damp dirty ground. "Mom? Mommy?! MOMMY!" The child cried out as he saw liquid as red as his eyes draining out of her chest, her eyes faintly open. The crowd surrounding her panicked and another woman screamed in shock before running off to find a paramedic. "HELP! SOMEONE HELP HER!" The child's father shouted without luck and tears ran down his slightly wrinkled complexion. The father was kneeling next to his wounded wife and placed his palms firmly onto the weeping hole as blood splattered onto his hands. "MOMMY! MOMMY COME ON GET UP! YOU JUST GOTTA GET UP MOMMY!" The Child shouted to her whilst on the floor next to her besides his older brother who had frozen in shock and a mundane expression on his face. "Mommy... p...please...please get up" The boy began to cry and limped onto the ground besides his mother and turned his face to hers. "WHERE THE FUCK IS THIS PARAMEDIC SOMEONE WENT TO GET?! SOME BODY PLEASE SAVE HER!" The father began to shout at people as tears poured down his eyes like a fast running waterfall, his dark circles painted red to match his blotchy red face. "M...mommy" The child began to say to his mother as his head turned in her direction and looked at her deep chestnut eyes. "S...S...Soul..." The woman coughed roughly and blood spat from her mouth. "Mommy! You'll be fine the doctor is coming and you'll be okay, mommy! I just know... I J...JUST KNOW YOU WILL BE! S...SAY IT MOMMY! SAY YOU'LL BE OKAY! SAY YOU'LL GET UP! PL...PLEASE MOMMY! I W...WON'T LET YOU LEAVE ME MOMMY!" The boy cried harder than ever and tried to wipe his tears away from his mothers sight without prevail. "S...Soul. I... I love.." The woman looked at the child with a painless, waiting for his mother to continue with what she was saying. "No. No! NO! NO! OH MY GOSH! NO!" The father cried out in pain and began shaking his wife to see if she would move by her command. Nothing. Absolute stillness..._

"M...Mom" Soul whispered to himself on the bathroom floor and a trickle of salty fluid trickled down his face before sniffing mucus up his nostrils and wiping his eyes that were masked by his flopped hair which some strands had stuck to the middle of his face. "Mom I miss you so much" Soul sniffled again. He got up and ran the cold water tap, filled some in the palms of his hands and splashed it on his face and neck in attempt to relieve himself of his sudden pain and mourning...

"Good morning Maka!" Tsubaki said to her as she caught her on the way to school, Black Star lagging behind as per usual in his stumbling manor, kicking every pebble and rock he could find for he felt the need to dominate it, and only his logic would understand that. "Morning Tsubaki! How are you?" Maka replied back in her repeatedly chipper mood to attempt to (poorly) mask her tiredness. "...I've been good, thanks..." She answered the female Meister when Maka came to a halt.

"What's with the sudden hesitation, Tsubaki?"

"What hesitation? I...um...I'm not hesitating!" Tsubaki quickly answered her back, imaginary bullets of sweat down her face like in a Tom and Jerry cartoon. "You're hiding something from me, and it's probably not that bad either." Maka crossed her arms and gave a stern look to Tsubaki whilst looking straight into her eyes "You know you want to tell me" A slightly daring smile etched onto her face and a single eyebrow raised itself up in humorous suspicion. "Well... it's not... it's not me. I'm perfectly okay, but..."

"Go on" Maka insisted encouraging her.

"It's..." Tsubaki turned her head around to see where her Meister was, hoping that they had enough space between them to tell Maka the deadly information. "It's Black Star. He..."

"Yes?"

"Keeps having nightmares. I don't know what they're about but I know he's having them" Tsubaki finally spilled. "He keeps me up every single night around 3..."

"Did you just say 3?" Maka questioned with intense interest. How could this be that they both had nightmares around 3am in the morning. Was this just a mere coincidence or something more?


	11. Probitas

_Author's note – So even though I'd written before that that would be the chapter which was up to date with the first chapter, I kinda lied...um... It was about 2 in the morning when I had finished writing it and wanted to have a cat nap so apologies for the really badly written chapter and all the grammatical errors...yeah... so this will be the one where it gets up to date with the start and stuff.. so enjoy!_

_If there's any questions or anything you'd want me to put into the story don't hesitate to ask as all opinions and thoughts will be noted by me ^.^_

**Chapter 11 – Probitas**

"Yeah, three, why?" Tsubaki reflected the questioning on to Maka.

"Because... because I've been waking up at three in the morning too. From nightmares" The Meister confessed to the dark arm.

To Maka, telling someone about something that only should happen in the early stages of childhood when you've become a near adult was in her 'embarrassing' category for everything that has happened to her. Telling someone about having nightmares was a big step for her, even if it was someone as close as Tsubaki.

"Maka, you've gotta tell me about these nightmares" Tsubaki demanded as she placed her hands on Maka's small shoulders and smiled sympathetically. "I know it might not be something you want to tell, but if they are some how linked to Black Stars..." The name once again stabbed daggers through Maka's heart and gave her quick sudden painful flashbacks before turning back to the normality and comfort of the Japanese angel in disguise known as Tsubaki. "...Then we need to get them checked out by Lord Death or someone" Tsubaki finished and turned to see where Black Star was and giggled intensely to see him shouting at a pigeon on the pavement that was "BLOCKING MY WAY!" in Black Star's opinion, a thick tan finger pointed down at the disease riddled creature whilst it looked at him with demonic black eyes and a confused glare, it's long feathered neck rotating, making it's head tilt often as he looked at him, probably inspecting Black Star's bright blue 'feathers'.

"...No...I...I can't. It would do nothing beneficial for either of us... You can't control dreams or change them, Tsubaki" A gentle hand lay on Tsubaki's shoulder, Maka's eyes innocently stared into the Weapon's begging her to comply with her notion for she feared she'd have to reveal the truth behind her distorted dreams.

"You're probably right Maka, but it's worth a try, though. I'm gonna ask Black Star about this tonight, and how it's been happening to you as..."

"Don't tell Black Star! Please Tsubaki don't!" Maka began to sweat down her back and a rush of nervousness swarmed around in her stomach. "Why not? What's the worse he could do if he found out there maybe a resonating connection between dreams?" Tsubaki questioned the person still looking at her.

"I...He...Don't... He'd just make fun of me. Call me a baby for having nightmares and lie if I said that he'd be having them. You know of how much of a good liar Black Star has recently become" Maka warned Tsubaki, now begging her in reality instead of eye gestures. "Okay Maka. You're my friend and I'll respect your wishes, like you would if you were in my position".

This was true. Tsubaki would respect anyone's desires if they just asked her. It was her way of complying with everyone in order to make them happy, as well as herself. It was not in her nature to be rude, hasten or argue with anyone. Not even her brother...

"_Masamune! Masamune!" A tall-for-their-age child with long black hair and mesmerising blue crystal eyes shouted across the court yard to a young teenage boy of similar features to themselves. "Yes, what is it?" The boy replied back to the smaller being with a minute glare in his eye. A single dark ring surrounded the bottom of his eye which anyone could tell was from lack of sleep, despite his wicker beige Kasa blocking most of the sunlight out from his complexion. "Do you wanna play ball big brother?" A sweet tone sang out of the child's mouth, a smile erect on their face as the wind blew past and took their long straight ponytail with it in the direction, before gravity took over once more and paralleled it to it's original position from the ground once again. "I don't have time for games any more. I must practice my performance. It's not everyday that someone is randomly blessed with numerous weapon formats, you know. I must learn to develop with what I only have. I do not want to disappoint father." A Stern look and dark tone was sent from the teen who shifted his arm to his sword form. It was common for the Nakatsukasa clan to not only possess the weapon form of a Japanese weapon, but to have multiple forms. All except Masamune, who had only one form in comparision his sibling had more than anyone in the history of weapons. Not only was he jealous of that but also of the fact his younger inferior sibling could absorb other weapons and make them for their own. He despised her sometimes. He needed to be better than them. "Actually, yes. I'll play a ball game with you" The boy said darkly and a glint of evil rang in his eye, his arm still in the slender black blade form. "Hehe, thanks Masamune!" The child happily replied back and slightly jumped in joy, as they threw the ball to the other side of the yard. When the ball began to descend from it's elevation in the crisp morning dew air, the male of the duo swung his blade back and returned it forward with a clean thin slice going straight through the hand woven ball. The child's face dropped and tears came to the corners of their eyes. "Granny especially that out of pure bamboo for me before she... died. Masamune. How could you? That was my last birthday present from her..." The child put their hands over their face to conceal the tears running down it. _

"_Don't cry. It is practise for me. Do you want me to fail in life? Do you want to see your only sibling, your brother to not perfect his form? Do __**you**__ want to have to take charge of the clan after father passes? I must perfect my performance!" __He replied back to her with no tone, no expression, no sympathy for ruining her beloved gift from her beloved deceased. "Oh. Well, yes. Okay then. You're right. I don't want to be the head of the family dear brother, I know I wouldn't be successful, and that's why you're here. To guide us when father isn't around. You can practise with whatever you wish that is mine." A smile was forced on the child's face to please their brother as they wiped the salty pearl drops from their face as the teenage boy walked from the grand courtyard past the __bush of scarlet__ Camellia flowers without looking back and entered the grand oak house. As the boy went out a tall thin black haired man with grey eyes walked slowly into the courtyard, a long traditional robe fell onto __him like sauce on a sweet desert. "Father?" The child asked the powerful being standing in their presence. "Tsubaki. Come. We need to discuss your future..."_

"Thanks, Tsubaki I know I can always count on you, and yeah I would have done the same for you too" Maka replied back as the two embraced each other. "Ew you girls are gross!" Black Star teased the females as he finally caught up with them seeing them hugging each other. He stuck his tongue out and blew as raspberry at them. Tsubaki laughed and Maka simply turned away as she couldn't bear to look at him. She wondered if he knew of the night where her whole world was destroyed. She didn't want to ask him either. In fact as of lately she didn't want to be a part of his life in any way. "Hey Maka..." A familiar voice ran sharp pains through her heart.

"...Where's Soul? You two are like magnets I haven't seen you not with him." His best friend questioned his girlfriend, but she did not want to answer him back. But she had to. "He's off school today. He's never in on the fourth of the month, apparently." Maka replied quickly as she could, but hesitated at moments to think of what to minimally say to him. "Oh yeah, he never comes in, not sure why but this day he just likes to bunk off. I think it's a tradition for him or something." Not even Black Star knew the secret behind his skipping school. _'Maybe I should to go Lord Death and see if he knows' _Maka pondered to herself as the three walked into the grand marble doors of the DWMA and the grand gold bell from the tower rang...

A plot of land scattered with brown, dead leaves twirling with the power of the wind stood in the middle of no where as Soul stood at one particular part of it, a pure white Calla lilly wrapped in clear cellophane hang loosely in his hand as he stared at the ground.

_'Helena Evans (née Pujnoska). 4th February 1970 – 4th July 2000. Loved and remembered always by your darling husband, and two beautiful sons Wes and Soul. Sleeping with her mother for eternity xxx'_

Soul fell so his knees and tears streamed down his face, thankful that no one was around to see him crying like a child. "Mom..." Soul sniffed once again as he wiped his eyes to see better. He stood at the edge of her black granite and white marble grave, vases containing wilted flowers; freesia; alstroemaria; peonies. Anything delicate and wispy was his mother's favourites.

"Thirteen years today, mom. I don't... I don't know where the time goes... I've been doing great at school, I've got loads of friends, I defeated the world's most powerful Kishin with my girlfriend who's my Meister too. She's amazing mom you would have loved to have met her... I can't stop thinking about her, she's sweet, caring, beautiful and... I love her mom. I really do." Soul bent down to the vase and replaced the dead brown flowers with a crisp white and elegant flower held in his hand. He picked up a piece of cloth nearby to her headstone and wiped the dust and dry grass imprints off of it, revealing a glossy clean surface underneath.

Soul got up from his crouch, still looking at the headstone where his mother's name was engraved, trying to hold back his emotions even though there was no one around. "I've gotta go now mom, I've got some things to do before Maka comes home. Love you" Soul placed the tip of his fingers to his lips and kissed them before placing them on the picture of his mother embedded on the headstone, turned around and walked out of the cemetery as the leaves crushed beneath the soles of his feet...

"And that class is how large the dodo's heart is. Any questions?" Stein asked the young jury of Meisters and Weapons who witnessed the horrendous dissection he birthed. Being the sensitive type Maka thought she was about to be sick and her face turned just as green as her eyes were, three people had already ran to the toilet as soon as they heard Stein ripping out the muscle from the ligaments, each chamber squirming around, hearing the tissue rubbing against each other. Tsubaki simply closed her eyes at that moment, Ox Ford had already been sick in his lap, before he had the chance to run to the toilet basin, much to the embarrassment of his and the extreme amusement of the class before Stein freaked them out once again.

_' I thought Dodos were extinct?' _Maka thought to herself, trying to swallow back the sick in her throat, the taste making her shudder.

As per usual though, Black Star was asleep, his snoring over powering Stein's talking at that moment he finished the dissection. "Black Star? Black Star wake up." Stein ordered the Meister without luck.

"_Let me specimen your skin... Ahh yes. The muscle tissue will be a great feat to uncover and experiment on. Can I take some more? Of course I can. No one can hear you scream." Stein said as he held down a tan body in one hand and a sharp scalpel in the other. He twisted his headpiece many a time before he continued to perform surgery on the body, who clearly from the wriggling and jolting everywhere even though they seemed to be gagged had no anaesthetic and was in extreme pain. Stein stabbed the scalpel into the body viciously and laughed like a crazy man as his bloody hand ripped the flesh off the body and began to lick the blood off of it. "De...licious" he stated and turned to the person on the bloody sheets on the metal bed. "You can wake up now... Black Star..."_

"Black Star. Black Star." Stein repeated over and over again as cigarette ash fell from his mouth. Black Star began shifting about in his sleep, his eyelids slightly ajar, trying to wake up from the demand in his dream. His vision was impaired and all he could see were outlines of people; Tsubaki; Patti... and a grey figure.

Stein.

Black Star managed to ninety five percent wake up and see what was around him, much to his horror as Stein's blank, expressionless yet demonic face was right in front of his, his mouth slightly ajar, whilst Black Star looked like he was about to leave an unpleasant present in his boxers. "AAHHHHHHH!" Black Star quickly screamed as Stein was still looking directly into his face and the entire room roared with laughter to see the 'big man' of the class acting terrified because of one mad Meister.

"That should keep you awake during my lessons then shouldn't it Black Star. Maybe now you'll pay attention to my teachings in class and make notes instead of dreams" Stein threatened him and returned to his desk and sat on his revolving chair in his usual manor: his legs and body swung over the wrong side, his chest flat against the back of the furniture.

"No questions then? Class dismissed. But before you go, Maka, I want to have a word with you please" Stein asked the young woman as the rest of her class left her and the greatest Meister from the DWMA in the same room alone.

"Yes Professor Stein? What's the matter? Is it long because I said I'd go get a book with Kid about the History of Resonating and see if I can perfect my Genie Hunter skill with Soul and he on creating a more powerful shot from Liz and Patti"

"No Maka I won't be long with you. I need to talk to you about things from the past. Now do you remember what happened when you were battling with Asura?"

"Of course Professor. We all battled him, I had to get Soul away from the black blood whilst Kid and... Black Star tried to defeat him, then I had my shot when they were knocked out. I remembered using Kishin Hunter on him and-"

"-And do you know what happened after that? Do you know how you got to where you did?"

"...No. Not really... I can't honestly remember how I got from one place to another after being hit by him in such a quick amount of time"

"Then let me do an experiment with you" A chill ran down Maka's spine, fearful of that word from that mouth. "It's nothing where I have to cut you open, don't worry" Stein quietly chuckled as Maka's senses calmed down as well as the hairs on her back.

"Stand Straight. Close your eyes. Clear your mind" Maka did as he ordered her to. Nothing ran through her mind, no emotions, no memories, no thoughts of Soul or the others she loved. Nothing. She felt two cold fingers at each side of her head placed lightly against her temples as he closed his eyes too.

"Now Maka, I'm going to see if we can unlock what was missing from your memory that day, of why you can not remember it." Instead of talking in order to help clear her mind for as long as she could Maka did not proceed to talk but let out a heavy sigh to tell him that she understood his requests.

A cooling effect burst out of the sides of Maka's head which felt like it was forcing itself into her brain to discover the secrets and unlock the missing memories. Faint blurry visions popped into Maka's mind. The blast from the Weapon in Asura's mouth hitting her, making her fall to the ground...black. Everything went black.

"Professor... I don't know what-"

"-Maka I asked you to be quiet" Stein told her without threat as she stopped talking not only due to his interruption but because she needed to concentrate. She felt like Stein was picking at her memories in her brain when she couldn't get the right one she needed... each one drew closer and closer to the present future she was in: the kishin battle with Soul where she broke her ankle; the speaking in the language of love; their intimate time where she tried to block that out more than anything. '

_Maka don't let him see more into the future or he'll know! Think! Maka think! Past. Past. Past. Past. Past'_ Maka repeatedly thought over and over in her head that strangely worked as the memories were pushed back to the meeting with Asura and the point where she fell over.

Black. Still black. Absolute nothingness.

"Okay I think that this was enough for today Maka, it's getting late and we can't figure out what it is today so we'll have to try again." Stein explained to the young Meister as she opened her eyes to see his looking directly at her, a serious tone on his face. "Today? So we're gonna keep on having lessons like this until we find out what was after the black out? What if nothing happened? What is it was Asura who put my body on the ground? What if-"

"-Maka?"

Maka once again interrupted replied to Stein's closed question "Yes professor?"

"Everything happens for a reason. Every memory, every thought, every feeling, every touch. Now here me out: you got to where you were for an unexplained reason which neither of us can figure out...yet. This is why I'm going to help you unlock what is was." Stein got up and began to walk, but then halted and turned to Maka's direction. "Trust me, if Asura put you into the ground like that, you wouldn't be breathing..." Stein again explained, fishing his hand into his pocket for another cigarette and lighter before heading out of the door without even a goodbye to the girl before him...

Sloppily, Soul got his keys to the front door of the apartment and slugged his way in, dragging his tired and worn out feet behind him like a troll with over sized arms scraping on the gravel terrain in a fictional book. He placed the keys on the kitchen table, got a clean glass that Maka'd washed up this morning whilst he was snoozing away and poured himself a drink. Not of water, but the wine they kept for special occasions like birthdays and parties.

"This is a special occasion after all" Soul said to himself before he drank the blood red concoction that matched the colour of his eyes. He then poured another glass and drank it as heartedly as he did the first. Then another, and another. In an attempt to drown his sorrows of the day he got bored with having to pour the liquid into the glass and pressed his lips to the caldera of the bottle and began gulping it, traces of the alcoholic beverage running down the sides of his mouth as if he were a vampire enjoying his first drink of the day. But Soul wasn't enjoying himself.

He didn't want to think of enjoyment, of happiness, of compassion, of love or quiet frankly, anything at that moment. All he knew were two things: one – this was a bad day for him and two – Maka'd be home any time soon.

Slouching to the floor at the direction of the door he noticed that the mail had been delivered. _'Rent bills, probably' _Soul thought to himself as he got up off the floor, his back bend from fatigue and headaches and picked up the many letters. True to his thoughts there was indeed one for the rent, one for Blair's cat magazine (as if any one sane thought that to be real, but apparently it was), one addressed to next door which he'd have to give to them, and at the back a small brown envelope, roughly the size of an A5 piece of paper which felt slightly thick. In black thick capital letters the envelope had it written on:

_'SOUL EATER,_

_APARTMENT 31,_

_THE EMBER BUILDING, _

_HALLAM, _

_DEATH CITY, _

_DC7 4HU'_

Ripping open the envelope without care at the top, ripping the back of it open some of the documents that lay inside fell out and turned like sycamore seeds to the ground and scattered like a pack of playing cards. Picking them up, still not understanding what they were because all there were were blank glossy papers with _'KODAK'_ printed on the back of them he turned them around to see they were photographs.

The first one he picked: Maka and Black Star on the floor in their dungeon. It clicked to him that these were taking by the older Meisters and Weapons during the night of the party that never should have happened. Maka looked terrified, her thin arms hugging her even thinner legs, her head in between them, probably in fear closing her eyes. Black Star on the other hand was knocked out on the floor. _'Probably sleeping as per usual' _Soul thought to himself. He scanned through more of the photos, each one revealing something he never wanted to see...

The photographs slipped from his hand and hit with a thud on the wooden floor, curling the sides of them from the floor, his body frozen, hands slightly shaken, his eyes scarred form what he'd seen on there. _'No. Absolutely no way is that even possible. No. There's some sort of photo-shopping here. I can't believe it. I won't believe it.' _Soul ordered to himself in his thoughts as he thought of a drastic yet pathetic solution to see why those pictures had shown Maka kissing a topless Black Star in the middle of a blacked out room, Maka's on the dirty floor, Black Star's shirt around her waist.

The door knob shook as he heard keys in the background rattle and quickly shook himself out of his petrified form, picked up the revolting images and quickly headed into the living room, still shaking...

"Soul? Are you in?" Maka's sweet yet torturing voice echoed through out the apartment and hit his ear drums, stabbing him through the heart. "There you are, why didn't you say hi to me like you usually do?" _'shut up.'_ "How was your day?" _'shut up'_ "Me and Kid got the most interesting books from the-"

"SHUT UP MAKA!" Soul shouted at his girlfriend, surprised he would ever say that to her. Maka's was astounded at what he just said to her, shocked as to why he would say that to her? Was it something she said? Did something happen to him today? Was that the reason?

"Soul? Why on earth did you tell me to shut up? Was it something I said?"

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP MAKA!"

"Soul... tell me, why are you telling me to shut up? Have I done something wrong-?

"Like you don't know already"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Maka gasped, slightly sweating. That was it. Her worst fears had been revealed. Her dark secret revealed, she didn't know how, but he'd found out... or it was possibly something else... "You know what I mean. How could you forget something like that!?" Soul snapped back at her, still not looking at her, but instead he got the photographs and threw them in her direction, once again scattering every where. "THERE. REMEBER NOW?!" Soul violently asked her as she picked up a handful of them. Her hunch was correct. She'd been found out. There she and Black Star were, a pathetic low life pervert took photos of them during drunkard fornication. "Soul... I...I..."

"Tell. Me. These. Are. Not. True. Tell me they're edited. DAMMIT TELL ME MAKA!" Soul demanded of her as he got up from the sofa to the table, placed both hands on and curled up one fist and hit it hard, not caring about the pain. "Soul...I... They... Soul I'm so-"

"OH YOU'RE SORRY?! You're sorry. Because 'sorry' will solve EVERYTHING. You slept with him Maka. You FUCKED my BEST FRIEND... my ex best friend... YOU FUCKED HIM MAKA! HOW COULD YOU!"

Tears dripped down Maka's eyes, unable to speak even though she could. She deserved what she was getting. She deserved everything he was giving to her. She wanted to tell him she was drugged, that there was more to it than what he presumed. "You don't understand Soul! There's more to it!"

"Oh, I don't UNDERSTAND now do I? Maka how dumb do you think I fucking am?! What can be more to the fact that you had sex with someone else, someone that wasn't me? You don't even love him... do you? That's it. You LOVE HIM. You had your chance to fuck him when no one was around, and I was the third wheel in your SICK LOVE TRIANGLE!" Soul began hitting the table once again, nearly hitting the glass vase, vibrations making the oak finished furniture shudder on the tiled floor.

"Please Soul, let me explain-"

"What is there to EXPLAIN?! Okay then... let me explain it of how I see it. '_Oh Hey I'm Maka Albarn the sweet innocent angel and I had sex with my boyfriend's childhood friend who is also his best friend because I thought it would be funny and seeing as I don't really love Soul I'll get my chance with Black Star any moment I get'._ I bet that's where you were today, not getting a book, but with HIM!" Soul spat some of the words that emitted from his mouth, tears appearing at the corners of his eyes.

Rage fuelled him like gun powder in a hand grenade, ready to explode at any moment. He wanted to hurt Maka. He wanted her to feel the pain he did. She'd lost something so precious, so virtuous to someone who she wasn't in a relationship with.

His arm turned into his Death Scythe form and sliced the flower heads that were in the vase on the table. The redness around his eyes and the flush of blood that ran to his face matched perfectly with his burning rubies. He walked forward to Maka, grabbed her by the scuff of her collar and pinned her to the wall. His blade was millimetres away from slicing her throat.

He stared at her with remorse, hate and depression. Why did this have to happen on today of all days? His garnets fixated on her emeralds, small liquid pearls coming from his eyes, running down his face. He felt nothing empathetically for her at that moment on wards. He wanted to run his Scythe right through her throat, feeling the searing, excruciating pain as each part of the ring from her oesophagus was cut like melting cheese on a hot day.

"It's over Maka, I can't do this any more"

"Soul you don't understand! Someone had spiked my drink I wasn't myself you could see that!"

"I don't know what I see any more, Maka. I'm sorry but after what you did, we're through for good."

"Soul..." Maka was interrupted by Souls tear stained lips pressing against hers forcefully, hard and uncomfortably. No spark. No romance. No happiness. He parted them from hers just as he had forced them onto hers.

He felt nothing. He let go of her collar, put his arm down and headed for the door. "Soul where are you going!?" Maka asked, afraid of what would happen next.

He turned to her direction, not looking and angrily exclaimed six horrifying words.

"I'm going to kill Black Star"


	12. Hunting

_Author's note – now we've met up with the first chapter's flash back...uh... thing... then we can get down to the good stuff! Each character is going to have their own mini story in this e.g. Maka trying to get Soul back or having Patty and Kid as a couple. Adding on to the Patty X Kid the idea was courtesy of Iwuvsoul check her out if you want __they've __done some good stories ^.^ Also these chapters are only gonna be around 1.__5K __words each to build up tension and cliff hangers... __meh._

**Chapter 12 – Hunting **

Soul walked quickly down the stairs of his apartment building, hearing the heart wrenching footsteps of Maka behind him, unable to catch up, her sniffles giving him migraines. He didn't care. All he wanted to do was to kill Black Star. To slice his best friend's throat into perfectly sliced pieces. He didn't want to have to look at him, see him or ever hear his erratic voice any longer. He wanted him to feel the physical pain that Soul felt emotionally. All Soul knew now was to hunt him down as if Black Star were a Kishin.

The road was silent, no cars around, no pedestrians either. A quaint person could hear a pin drop. All Soul could hear were Maka's lopping feet smacking lightly against the ground. He paused and turned to her, rage filled his ox-blood eyes; fuelled his words "Will you piss off?! I don't want to see you! STOP FOLLOWING ME!" He shouted at the Meister, fluid slowly cascading down her milky cheeks, her emerald bleeding translucent pearls.

"Soul..."

"I said I didn't want to fucking see you! Why won't you understand that Maka!?"

Maka halted at his question as he turned around and began to quickly walk, his arm still in his Scythe form. She wiped her damp plump cheeks and snorted the mucus up her nose so it's wouldn't run and parted her lips, unable to get the words out in time

"Why I Won't understand. Why... I WON'T UNDERSTAND!?" Soul turned his head slightly and stopped in his footsteps, hearing Maka's pitter-patting on the grey cobblestone pavement. "No Soul. It's you who won't understand! You never gave me the chance to explain ANYTHING TO YOU! You never let me have the chance to say fuck all and you storm out like a 'big man' going to kill someone who you'd never give the chance to explain either! For once in your life, you'll listen to what others have to say before you do something! THAT IS AN ORDER AS YOUR-"

"- As my what?! My MEISTER? Not any more Maka that bond has gone too! You expect me to still be any type of partner to you whilst you... YOU GO AROUND FUCKING SOME IDIOT?!" Soul's twisting words ripped from his mouth, his razor-like teeth baring at her like a vicious animal guarding it's territory, some saliva coming out of the edges of his mouth.

Inside, Soul was dying. He felt like someone had shot him a thousand times and a thousand more over in his heart. It felt like this huge hole had been punched into his chest and the precious life depending organ had been ripped out and eaten... by non other than his...well now ex- best friend. He felt so betrayed. No betrayed was a weak word in this case. He felt exploited, violated, oblivious.

He felt like he was walking forever, winding his body throughout a narrow maze of tall buildings, never being able to find the centre – Black Star. It was as if Soul was a puppet being played and tormented, blocking off the path that was so close yet so far away.

And there was the narrow, quiet road and at the very end - the Assassin's domain. Soul forced his feet to move out of sheer anger, rage fuelled him still, taking over every morsel of muscle, every pint of circulating scarlet blood, every thought of anything he's ever imagined. He hated the boy with the blue hair, his ridiculous tan and even more outrageous mouth that spewed out – in Soul's words - _"Utter Shit half the time"_. Still, as much as he didn't want to, he could hear Maka, now slowly proceeding even though he clunky mental boots made such a racket, behind him, sniffling quietly, but as often as she did before.

"Soul, please don't do this!" Maka whispered to herself, the ghostly road echoing her demand which would never be considered to the only other person in her presence. She wasn't crying any more, she'd drained it all from the arguments before hand and conjured to herself that there was no point of being upset any longer because he wouldn't comfort her.

Still though, it hadn't hit her yet that she and Soul had at that moment, and minutes before hand too, broken up. She knew they had subconsciously, but the realisation that she and him would not be living together after that, for him not being her Weapon any more did not prevail and she was still living in a hectic wonderland where she was Alice – being put on trials that could change her life forever to realise it was only a dream. She wished it to be a dream.

Three loud, echoing and ear bursting slams with the side of Soul's fist rapped against the door. "BLACK STAR!? WHERE ARE YOU?!" The boy with the white hair shouted so loud, Maka expected that Lord Death could hear him in the Death Room. He began hitting to door with his red marked fist over and over again, and jabbing the cedar wood with the tip of his Scythe.

The house where Black Star and Tsubaki live was neither big nor small, rather a large bungalow to make up for loss of height. It had a simple yet pleasing appearance, probably courtesy of Tsubaki and her love of Camelia flowers as the bulb flower slowly crawled up the terracotta walls and nestled into the black tiled roof, coral petals imprinted everywhere making the house more sweeter and delicious looking, but it was being destroyed by a human. "BLACK STAR GET THE FUCK OUT HERE NOW!" Soul demanded as the door slowly creaked open and a thin pale hand pulled it back to reveal the body attached to the limb.

"Soul? What ever is the matter?"

"Where is he. Where's... WHERE'S BLACK STAR!"

"Soul, please. Calm down-"

"-I am calm" Soul without a second thought put the blade against the Dark Arm's throat. "Now, I'll ask you one more time." Tsubaki hesitated, scared and shook in her paralysed position. "Where. Is. He?!"

"He's not in. He's... he's outside in the courtyard with Kid, Liz and Patty of the DWMA-"

"-And that's all I needed to know" Soul lowered his Scythe and turned away from her, walking past Maka as she walked past him, giving her a death like glare.

Tsubaki slid to the floor in shock, her hands gently around her throat, unaware that Soul was no longer threatening her, subconsciously protecting her neck. Maka ran towards her as she saw the sweet angel tearing up slightly and shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. "Oh my gosh Tsubaki are you all right!?" Maka asked the weapon one of the stupidest questions. Of course she wasn't all right she'd just had a blade placed at her throat, demanding to know where her Meister was from his extremely pissed off ex- best friend and she couldn't do anything to protect herself.

"Maka... Why... Why did he do that? Why did he-"

"Tsubaki... Soul... he's gonna..." Maka gulped in her throat unable to finish her sentence.

"He's gonna what? Maka... please tell me!"

Maka hesitated, uncertain of how to tell her Soul's demonic plan, because in the end she'd have to tell her about what happened, and if she were to react like Soul then who knows what she would do. She was far more powerful than Soul with her abilities, and with all the positivity on the outside, she could be concealing a hidden chamber of rage on the inside. 'Y_ou have to tell her, Maka__'_

"Maka! What is Soul gonna do! Why does he need to know where Black Star is!" She enquired to the Meister, wiping the small tears from the slight red rings around her eyes. Maka took in a long, heft gulp of air, smelling Tsubaki's aroma as the flowers didn't have one. She opened her mouth.

"Tsubaki...he said... Soul said he's gonna kill Black Star."


	13. The good, the Black and the ugly

Author's note – I've decided using my 'great' (heh not really) brain that I'm going to make a schedule for when chapters are going to be published. So for this one new chapters will be published around 9:30-10:30 pm GMT / BST on Saturday and for my other story that I've started they're going to be published around 5:30-6:30pm GMT / BST on Wednesday. It gives me something to do and for people to (hopefully) enjoy ^.^

**Chapter 13 – The good, the Black and the ugly.**

"What?" Tsubaki gasped from the news Maka broke to her. Confused and shocked, the Dark Arm slowly but shakily got onto her feet with the aid of Maka who looked just about traumatised as she was. "We've... we've gotta stop him Tsubaki before he does kill him!" Tsubaki couldn't believe the words that were pouring out the other females mouth. The few but crucial words that span around Tsubaki's head were unable to be answered by her own knowledge.

'Why'

'What motive'

'Can I stop him?'

"Come on, we better go before we can't find him, where did you say Black Star was again?"

"He's in the courtyard of the main entrance of the DWMA with Black Star, Liz and Patty. Maka, we better hurry" She replied back to her, slightly hyperventilating. She grabbed Maka's hand and the both of them began to run as fast as their slim legs could go pushing them to the limit.

Soul was way out of their reach by now to be able to catch up with, and quiet frankly at that moment – unable to stop too. He had no other command, thought and feeling at that moment than one. Death. He wanted to finish what he started on Tsubaki – first slitting his throat, letting all the blood drain from it, then to rip his oesophagus out, making the Assassin unable to breathe. He wanted Black Star to relive how he felt – like he was underwater and unable to function properly, sinking away into nothingness.

Was this depression Soul felt at that moment? Who knew. The only thing he knew was a target. He could hear him in his head, his compete idiomaticness, his erratic laughter, his 'superiority' over others, his overly large pride that made him more arrogant than a snobby spoilt prince. Soul felt like he was going down every alley way, every road and every corner in Death City, a giant complex maze making him more pissed off than what he was now. He didn't want to, but he thought of her. He thought painfully of the memories he and Maka had...

'How can she have done this to me? Today of all days. Oh mom, what have I done to deserve this? Why... why today!' The angry weapon thought to himself, trying to block the memories that kept pushing through his impenetrable wall, toying with his mind, cursing it for eternity. '...I've been.. well... feeling the same way...too' 'Soul! Do you mind I'm trying to get ready!'. His heart ached, twisted and churned every where. He didn't even know whether he still loved her or not. He didn't know his feelings for her, but mostly, they were of repulsive hatred and ultimate anger. Walking on which seemed to be a forever ending road that kept getting narrower and narrower he heard a loud and very, very familiar sound.

"YAHOO"...

Soul transformed his Scythe back into it's human form so it wouldn't look obvious to what he was about to do. He saw a glimpse of sky blue hair, a deep golden brown tan as pigmented as dark honey and an arrogant voice to go along with it. Soul shook in his very footsteps, forgetting the happy memories with Maka and quickly ran towards the courtyard of the DWMA. "Soul! Where've you been all day?!" Black Star asked him...

"We'll never make it in time Tsubaki! He's probably already there! Come on!"

"Maka hold, on what's this all about?" "Maka?" "MAKA STOP!". The Meister halted at her command, shocked by her forcefulness, but she complied anyway. "Maka, I want an answer. Not in 5 minutes. Not when we get there. Now. I need to know what the heck is going on." She couldn't do it. She couldn't bring herself to telling her what she'd done with her best male friend. "Tsubaki...I...Can't"

"No Maka, you can. As his weapon it's my job to protect him no matter what, even if it means that I die for him. Now you will tell me or I'm gonna ask Soul myself". Tears ran down Maka's eyes again as she fell into the chest of the Japanese Angel as she embraced the weeping teenager. "Tsu...Tsubaki I'm so, so sorry! I...I didn't...didn't mean to! Soul didn't understand, he didn't listen to me... it's all my fault... I didn't want to go in the first place and I dragged him along!"

"Maka. What happened?"

She sniffled and wipe the tears from her eyes, clearing her watery vision. "Okay. You know the party? And how we got put into different isolation rooms?"

"Maka?"

"When me and Black Star were put into one together"

"Maka?!" Tsubaki said angrily, the cogs in her head slowly clicking to the pieces that were being mentally fit together.

"We... He... I couldn't help it! They'd done something to us! I could feel pills being jammed down my throat! Black Star was half unconscious! They force drank us heavy alcohol. Then it went black. Tsubaki... I'm so, so sorry. I think..."

"Maka tell me what happened after that. I'm not joking around tell me. Now." Tsubaki knew what was coming after this, she didn't want it to be true. She was, in some ways Black Star's girl. Not sexually, not romantically either, but they had a bond much, much stronger than any artificial relationship than no one could break. They had one of the strongest resonances in the world and nothing would break the bond.

Or so Tsubaki thought...

"I think I slept with him, Tsubaki. I think I slept with Black Star." Tsubaki froze, unable to say a word. A sudden chill went down her spine. Even though subconsciously she knew what she was going to have to prepare for, it was totally different to hearing it. She felt utterly betrayed. To think one of her best friends slept with his best friends girlfriend. The though of it repulsed her to the core. "Okay. Thank you for telling me Maka, but we gotta go" Tsubaki let go of the Meister completely and began to ran, leaving Maka slightly behind.

She agreed with Soul at that point. She felt his anger. She wanted Maka to feel the pain she was going through, the disgust, the betrayal, the shame and pity. But it was not in her nature to do so, and she didn't want to intervene as much as she had done already...

"Me, I've just been... busy" He replied back harshly to the blue haired idiot, his right arm shaking slightly, feeling the power of the weapon inside him begging to come out so he could slice him into quarters here and now. "How's Maka, and... where is she anyway" He asked him another question, peering into the background to hopefully find her without any luck.

"Shut up for a second, okay." He commanded to him, Black Star confused. He'd never said anything to him like that before, with such a hard attachment of vocal cords that struck along with them. It even made Kid, Liz and Patty turn their heads slightly, enquiring into this newly bread conversation. "Haha you're funny Soul as if-"

"I told you to shut the fuck up." Now all four heads turned to Soul, his facial expression looked demonic, possessed and twisted. Kid had never heard anyone talk like that to someone, let alone be it between two best friends, or so he thought. He decided not to intervene in case the situation got sticky and he was part of it. "Don't. You. Ever. Talk about Maka. Understand!"

"Soul what's gott-"

"You did it! I told you for firstly shut the fuck up! And second, you did it! I know what you and Maka did! There's no lying about it! I GOT FUCKING PICTURES SEND THROUGH THE POST OF YOU AND HER... FUCKING! YOU BASTARD! HOW COULD YOU! You had sex with her before I did, and she's not even your girlfriend! If you want someone to...SHAG... then go do it with Tsubaki!" His Scythe shifted from his human fleshy weak arm into something metal, powerful and beautiful.

"Soul. Calm down, hear me out!" Black Star cried out, backing away from Soul with every step that he approached with. He was just about to make a quick dash for it as he turned and began to quicken his footsteps when Soul forced the curve of his blade to block his path and cut the side of his muscular arm, slight pain running through his nerves as if a giant paper-cut had appeared. "What he hell was that for!"

"Are you fucking dumb! That was for making me go to that stupid party which if you'd never forced me and Maka to go NON OF THIS WOULD BE YOUR FAULT!" He hit the Assassin again in the shoulder, a long razor thin cut from this shoulder to the upper part of his breast bone. "Soul! Hear me out!" Another slash to the hand that covered the fresh wound. Another to the leg, which bucked Black Star over onto one knee, steadily getting up. He knew what he had done, but Soul wouldn't let him have a word in, just like Maka.

"Hear you out? HEAR YOU OUT?! I've had enough of your shit for one life time, ever since we were little when I first met you the first words that came out your mouth were complete utter SHIT. "I'm gonna surpass god because I'm the greatest!" Soul mockingly said in an obviously fake voice which was meant to resemble a young 5 year old Black Star.

"I should end you now" Soul ran towards him, kicked him to the ground and began to jab his foot into Black Star's muscular stomach. "No weapons, no souls. Just human, biological weapons. This is how I'm going to KILL you!" His foot increasingly getting harder and faster in his chest, winding him nearly unable to breathe. He morphed his blade back into his arm, a curled fist already waiting to be delivered in Black Star's face. He heard a crack at the first impact. Being a Scythe has it's advantages even in human form for his bones had traces of metal in them, hardening the calcium around it, almost impossible to break, the reason why he made it out unharmed during the battle with the enchantress kishin.

Soul had broken Black Stars bloody, crooked nose. Another fist launched at his face, another wave of air delivered swiftly with the hand before disappearing when he fist got too near. He pinned himself down on the Meister, his hands forcing themselves onto his ruined, bruised and messy face. Although he was giving Black Star what he deserved, he wasn't feeling any revenge from it. He couldn't feel anything but the rage that gave him life, the rage that gave him some reason of existing now he'd been left alone once again in the world.

"Kid, if he hits him any more he's gonna kill him!" Liz warned the Grim Reaper, shaking his arm, a worried look etched onto her face. He stared at the young woman and simply nodded. "Death! Please you've gotta do something! He's much stronger than Black Star these days, his bones are encrypted with Scythe metal, you know! The impact on his victim is much harder than what Black Star's is!" Patty added onto her sister's plea, Kid staring at her with more complexity than he did to her older sister, her bright blue sapphires orbiting his mind, her innocent face glowing.

"I can feel the damage he's giving to Black Star, as a Grim Reaper it's my job to assess those in danger, but to have no say into it. Although..." He looked into Patty's eyes, melting inside slightly, trying to shake off the feeling "... If he is in grave danger...ouch that sounded painful... Then I will have to stop him, it's not... oh crap! Liz I need you!" Black Star commanded quickly to the weapon, for a split second not caring about the symmetry, much to the amazement of Patty who transformed as quickly as he had ordered her. A quick fuchsia pink ball blasted out the barrel of the gun...

"This is how... you kill a little pathetic child..." Soul said, his arm raising in the air for the final blow, Black Star too weak to even respond, blood pouring out all over the place, which was being lost very quickly. He forced his perfectly curled fist down, ready to finally impact his face and fulfil his revenge. A pink glowing ball hit him on the shoulder, singing his clothes slightly before he could deliver the final blow, only to see Black Star with one gun in his hand, and then to freak out because he'd done something to unsymmetrical. "STAY OUT OF THIS!" Soul shouted at him, Patty stepped in front of him, fearing for her Meister, ready to protect him. "You're not touching him, Soul. Calm-"

"Shut the fuck up Patty don't get into anything that is non of your concern!" The Weapon wasn't at all shocked by the forced imperative, he was in the end, pretty dam pissed off from the whole situation. Soul turned his head around again, his arm once again pulled back into the air readying itself for the final breath of his ex-best friend.

Soul hit something hard on the floor and heard a twanging, ringing sound close to his ears. Black Star was no where within his circumference and a blade was at his throat. A Weapon's arm arm had transformed into a thin beautiful sword.

"Touch him again and your neck will be impaled into this blade..." A stern, threatening voice told him.


	14. Soliloquy

_Author's note – meh fudge the little schedule thing I've got other things to do and considering I've done yet another story when I've only just put up the first two chapters of the other one then everything is just mad ^.^ And I've only just found out I'm going to Cyprus in 16 days so there won't be anything published until the start of September after the last thing I publish on here... hopefully that makes sense? Meow ^.^ - it's a cat... I think. Enjoy!_

_- The Pouting Horse_

**Chapter 14- Soliloquy**

"Get that thing away from my neck!" Soul demanded of the possessor of the blade, his eyes darted onto it, examining the narrow metal weapon. It was beautiful but at the same time it was twisted, demonic looking and estranged. "You touch him one more time and It'll move closer. Don't piss me off Soul and don't touch my Meister" Tsubaki threatened, her voice no longer sang, but words spat like fire in rain. Her arm was inches away from cutting his throat. Inches away from ending his life.

"It's my job to protect him, to prevent him from dying at the hands of another weapon. I can't let you do this. I won't let you hurt him any more!" The Camellia blossom morphed the enchanted sword back into her own hand, grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him away, throwing him to the ground. Tsubaki was a lot stronger than what she appeared to be, but that was merely a sample of her physical power for her mental power was by far stronger. "You know what he... what they did, don't you Tsubaki." Tsubaki gasped, a quick flash back in her head of when Maka told her that she'd slept with her Meister.

True that she didn't feel anything romantically towards Black Star, although from his gestures the feeling towards each other may not be mutual, she still felt betrayed. She was first and foremost his girl, his best female friend, yet the bond had torn slightly as it hung on a thin black thread. If Black Star put the right words in his head and then out of his mouth, then maybe, just maybe then the bond wouldn't break. _"Damn you Soul!" _Tsubaki told herself, her eyes pierced into the other weapons. Faintly in the back ground she could see Kid, Patty and Liz squinted her eyes, her face turned to disgust. _"Why didn't they do anything to stop it? Why didn't they try and help Back Star? Why didn't they take Soul off of him?!"_

"Why didn't...why didn't you do anything to stop him!" she shouted at Kid, a small tear travelled down her face, the blood vessels in her eyes turning the whites slightly red. "I will not invade something that I have no part in. As a Grim Reaper-"

"ENOUGH WITH THE 'AS A GRIM REAPER' CRAP!" Tsubaki screamed at him, poorly imitating his voice, tears now running down both eyes, red rings circulating them.

"Tsubaki... why are you shout-"

"Why I'm shouting at you? Oh that's an easy question to answer! You are meant to be Black Star's friend yet you watch his best friend almost BEAT HIM TO DEATH" The Dark Arm collapsed to the ground beside her Meister, a soft hand touched her shoulder. Maka's gloved hand caressed the Japanese Angel's pale skin, only for her to move it away. "Don't you touch me Maka! Don't you dare touch me! This is all YOUR fault!" Tsubaki shouted at her, whimpering as she did. She didn't really mean to say that to her, she knew it wasn't entirely her fault as it takes two to tango, but to be honest she'd rather side with the one she cared for most than the one who took his virtue. She picked up her Meister, straining a bit after finding out for herself just how much he weighed.

"_God he weighs a ton!"_ She complained to herself, sniffling the mucus that was running down her nose like an avalanche. "Tsubaki. I'm sorry. You know I didn't want any of this to happen!" Maka pleaded with her, walking slightly towards her, hesitant by her next move. The Dark Arm halted and turned her head, her soft salmon lips parted "You may not have wanted this to happen... but it happened and you can't change it. I'm sorry Maka but I don't think we should hang out any more. Not until this is settled, at least. Goodbye." She turned her head back to her original position, looked up at the burning sun, the blood that dripped from it's mouth disgusted her, his teasing laugh disgusted her even more.

"_What are you gonna do Tsubaki? You can't stay mad at everyone forever. __Right now you need to tend to Black Star's wounds, who knows what damage Soul did"._ And with that, the Demon Weapon walked down the marble steps of the DWMA, her head never looking back...

"Hey, Kid are you okay?" Liz asked him, comforting her Meister with a gentle tone and a warm smile. "She shouldn't have shouted at you like that, you were right not to interfere" she continued, Kid saying nothing to her, but he simply turned his head and cracked a small yet reassuring smile at the corner of his mouth. He turned to Patty, her large, perfectly circular sapphires glowing, the light going directly into his eyes, giving him warmth in a different way to what her sister did. She placed her hand on his arm, her smooth gentle skin on his suit jacket, sending ripples on his skin.

"Yes Liz I'm fine thank you" he said, turning his head around to her position. "And at the same time... you're wrong"

"Huh? How is she wrong, Kid?" Patty asked, enquiring to the notion the Grim Reaper stated.

"Tsubaki was right I should have stopped it before things got too far. Black Star is my friend and I should have done something about it. I'm a terrible person for not preventing damage, now he's unsymmetrical and it's all my fault!" Kid began to cry out, freaking out over the many bruises he saw scattered all over the Assassin's face, the blood that poured all over his body from the many cuts and scratches. "Kid calm down! You're not a terrible person! You thought to not interfere because it wasn't your battle to take part in!" Patty disagreed to contradict her Meister's self conflicted accusation. She didn't want him to be in the fight, she didn't want him to bruise or cut his perfectly symmetrical face, for blood to burst through his smooth skin and stain his pigmentation that resembled pure butter milk. _"Patty you silly girl there's no way someone like Kid would go for you... he's probably interested in Liz" _Patty sighed to herself as she looked up to see the radiant youth she knew as her sister.

She examined her carefully, like an investigator finding every clue possible at a crime scene. Her perfectly groomed eyebrows, her flawless skin, her mature attitude that every guy would die for. _"Yeah, there's no way he'd go for short, red faced, bushy eyebrowed girl like me" _The demon gun added in her thoughts again, a figurative cloud of depression, darker than Kid's hair hung over her blond keratin, raining on her parade. Little did she know the whole time she was staring at her sister whilst she was on the phone to Kim about the whole thing, Kid was mirroring her actions.

"_Her immensely round sapphires, her petite figure, her thick, youthful eyebrows and most of all her perfectly sized... well you get the point. She'd never go for an OCD person like me. She's terribly symmetrical whereas a hideous creation like me can't even have bands that circulate around his head. I wish there was something I could do. I wish I could die sometimes. Die... that's it! Dye! Hair dye! I'll dye my hair fully black so I'll be perfectly symmetrical! Oh you smart Reaper!"_

"Uh Kid... what's with the face? Kid? KID?!" Liz shouted at her Meister during his blanking out session, his face in awe and excitement, staring into thin air. "EARTH TO KID! HELLO!?" Liz added, now poking him, reviving him back to reality. Shaking his head, the thoughts that created illusions in his eyes dissolved and the face of the taller demon gun replaced it, slightly hoping it was her younger sisters to gander over.

"Ladies, we should be heading off home by now, we have no more business here, especially after today's events. I'm merely thankful that nothing of my father's fine architectural work he designed for the DWMA has not been ruined. Kid said as he began walking, both of his weapons at either side of him, Liz on the left and Patty on the right. She was his right hand woman who he needed to depend on when it deemed fit, and when he needed a cheering up too.

Don't get me wrong Liz is helpful to him too in many ways, such as being the 2nd set of eyes for him during battle, and being older she was slightly more accurate and powerful when using her Meister's soul wavelength as artillery shooting out of her barrel when transformed into a gun. "So Kid, what are we having for dinner tonight, we're starving!" Patty exclaimed, her huge eyes piercing his, making her irresistible to him. "Why don't the two of you decide tonight instead of having the usual cuisine. I'm sure that being from New York the two of you know some...uh... local dishes that are full of additives and fatty foods"

"Yeah, and what's THAT supposed to mean, huh?" Liz snapped back at him in disagreement, the tone coming out a bit too harsh. It was true the majority of American dishes WERE full of fattening additives, but then what wasn't in this world? "I..uh...I..." Kid replied, almost speechless, a bullet of sweat went down his face.

"Oh Kid you know we're only joking with you!" Patty added, her hand slapped Kid's back lightly, making him jolt and at the same time his body electrified at her touch. And with that, the three of them, despite the days events, merrily walked down the steps of the DWMA and away from the remaining commotion known as Maka and Soul...

"For the last time Soul! Listen to me will you?!" Maka screamed at him, angry for repeating herself over and over again yet she could not prevail. "I have listened to you Maka. I've listened to your whining. You're such a hypocrite sometimes. You hate your father for always cheating on your mother-"

"You leave my mama and papa out of this! This has nothing to do with them!" She screeched back, tears running down her face, rage filling inside her, almost ready to burst.

"You hate your father for always cheating on your mother. You called me a cheater back when we were after Blair because I decided to side with her so we could end her! Well guess what Maka! You're in the wrong here. I'm not the cheater you are! You cheated on me! And in my book, cheaters don't get a word in. They're nothing but trouble to be around with!" A hard slap manoeuvred itself around Soul's face, oblivious that Maka was headed right towards him. "Shut up. Stop acting like a spoilt brat for once second Soul. You're acting childish, not letting anyone have a word in except your own. You did that to Black Star. You did that to your best-"

"Ex-best friend" Another slap impacted hard on his face, he stood their in silence. He knew not to interrupt Maka after the first slap, it reminded him of when not to talk after 'Maka Chop'.

"Now you'll listen to me" She added to her soliloquy, her eyes creased and ran dry. She no longer smiled, but looked angry yet dignified. Soul started into her emeralds, shaking his head, trying to erase the happy feeling of his ex-girlfriend.

"That night when we all got separated, me and Black Star..." Soul's facial expression turned for the worse at hearing the traitor's name, yet he never spoke. She was right. He was acting childish and it was her time to speak. "... had pills lunged down our throat, one got stuck in mine I could never forget the feeling..." She put her hand gently to her neck, moving it slightly, feeling the pill that lodged there until it was forced down by bitter booze. "...I'm not sure what pills they were, only that they were white and small. At least I think they were white but the dim light might have deceived me. You remember that bottle of alcohol found on the table? Yeah that was forced down our throats too. We were completely intoxicated. The alcohol saved me in some ways... it slipped the choking pill down my trachea so I could breathe better. You have no idea the hell we went through. I don't remember much either, I just know I did something terrible and I could never change it. I was unwillingly robbed of my virtue, and so was Black Star. We didn't plan it. We are two stupid teenagers who were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and we were enslaved in a cold dim room with nothing to do. How do you think I feel, Soul? How did you think I felt when that drunk bastard put his hands all over me...?" Soul tightened both of his hands into fists, some of his knuckle joints clicking, his mouth slightly open, his teeth clasped together, preventing him from shouting in anger. "... How did you think I felt when I had no control over my body? How did you think I felt knowing that I was in love with you yet I was having sex with your best friend and I didn't even know it at the time? Huh?!"

"I don't... I don't know. I've listened to you, not just heard bits at a time. Now you'll listen to me once again... please." He knew not to piss her off at that moment or the consequences could be worse for him.

"Maka, after today, I don't think there is any chance we could be together. You did something unforgivable and I just can't put myself through the feeling, knowing every day that... you cheated on me, yet I know, I know you didn't have full control over yourself... knowing that every day that you lost your virginity to my best friend, someone who doesn't love you, hardly acknowledges you from time to time... than losing it with me. I'm not sorry Maka. Non of this is my fault. Harsh as it may seem, but I want you out of the apartment. It's under my name and I just couldn't bear to live with you for the time being. You have no idea how... betrayed I feel. It feels like you've ripped my heart out and replaced it with pain and discord."

Plucking up all her courage, sniffling in her mucus, wiping her eyes she could see Soul's going red, unsure whether it was because of his natural eye colour or the fact he was getting emotional. "Soul... are you... are you crying?"

"Shut up, cool guys like me don't cry." He turned his head away from hers, and began to walk down the steps "... ring your dad up before you get to the apartment, I don't want things to get messy. I'll get some boxes out from the attic and put them in your room. I'm sorry Maka, but it's the way things are now" And with that, Soul Eater Evans began his trek down the white marble, looking down at his feet, his shoelaces undone as per usual, and headed home, leaving Maka far behind him...

"Hey Papa?"

"Yes my sweet little angel what ever is the matter?"

"Papa! I'm 16 not 6! Anyway... can I ask you something, it's kinda important."

"Sure my dumpling from sugar cube corner! Anything you request your Papa will grant!" Maka's teeth gritted, she was a young woman now she wished he's stop calling her childish names.

"I'm moving out, me and Soul are splitting up..." Waiting for a reaction, the receiving end of the phone remained silent. "Okay, explain please" Wow. That was a rarity for Spirit to be so calm when something happened to his daughter, the only thing he was worth living for, besides the love he still had for his ex-wife. He knew he was an embarrassment to his daughter and reacting badly like this would only make things worse. Maka breathed in once, a large lungful of air, and heaved it out gently. "Well..."

Soul stepped into the apartment, the photos still scattered to the ground, opening a drawer in the kitchen, he got out a lighter and burnt them in a small metal bowl before placing it outside, letting the remains of that night burn away. He didn't know what time Maka was coming to get her stuff but he knew her father would never let the invitation of living with his daughter go by denoted. Pulling down on the cord that waved around on the ceiling he pulled it down to reveal steps that pulled themselves down in synchronisation. Walking up them he remembered that there was no light in there, so re getting the torch, he lit on of the many candles Maka had spread around the apartment and placed it on a plate and headed up the steps once again.

The attic was bare, with only a few things in them; spare part's for Soul's bike he'd been keeping in case it needed repairing, old toys Maka had bought with her since she didn't want her papa keeping them for his own, crying every night into them on how he was a 'failed' parent. Soul laughed slightly. He knew Spirit was a good dad sometimes, he was always there to protect his daughter in any situation and that he'd be there for her at any time she needed. Her mother on the other hand had left her with him, estranging her to be left with only one parent available, whilst she went around the world, seeing her once a year. How could a mother leave her child during her teen years? The thought disgusted him. Deep down he knew that Maka loved both her parents very much, yet she showed more interest in the parent she hardly ever saw. _"Dammit Soul, you're here to pick up boxes for... her to put her stuff into, not to remember her!" _He shrugged the thought of Maka off his mind. He placed the candle down, near to the opening to the ceiling, getting enough light in to see, and picked up a few hollow boxes , stacking the smaller ones into the larger. It wasn't heavy for him, but the real problem was seeing where he would be going when going down the stairs. "I'll just throw them" Soul suggested to himself as he began to throw some down. The first few went down without a hitch, although the corners of them stubbed slightly, squashing the cardboard into itself. He was nearly done throwing them down when he slipped over his shoelace that he never bothered to tie, the box caught the scarlet flame and ignited, smoke coming from it before it fell over the edge of the ceiling and down onto the other boxes, igniting them too, whilst above Soul lay, light headed from hitting his cranium hard on the oak flooring. Weakly getting up and seeing the flames downstairs, he went to the step ladders and proceeded down.

The fumes were infiltrating his air ways, carbon replacing precious oxygen, making his being worse. Unable to breathe, his head pounding from his injury, the nauseous state he was in was too much for his body. With the boxes disintegrating, turning to ash and ember, spreading like a wild fire too, the carpet ignited. Catching Soul off guard as he moved his arm up to protect his face, he lost the his grip of the ladders and slipped once again, falling into the flames beneath him...


	15. Recovery

_Author's note- ahh I'm in a writing mood today from publishing a new chapter for this is I wanted to write MOAR! Everything in the last chapter just escalated and now the apartment is on fire! Disco Inferno HAHA... I think I'm on happy pills.. or it could be the cray cray conversation between me and Author-144 go check her out she's a brilliant author ^.^_

_- The Pouting Horse_

**Chapter 15- Recovery**

"Professor Stein! Nygus! He's waking up!" a familiar voice rang in Soul's ears, his eyes slightly opening, twitching so very often. Forcing them open, bright lights engulfed the space, blinding him slightly before recovering to see a view of an unfamiliar room. It was white washed, a few cabinets that had many glass jars containing various small objects, each marked with their own warning symbol of either corrosive, hazardous, irritant or poisonous. Moving around, despite the little he could, his skin felt like it was burning, as if some one had thrown a flamed torch on his entire body. "W..." It was even painful to talk, stretching the skin around his mouth to produce a letter felt like it was being ripped. He could see her. He could see Maka by his side, waiting patiently, yet anxious for the two doctors to enter the room. "Where...ah!... Maka... where am I? Why are you here?"

"Shh Soul try not to talk... you're in hospital..." Maka told him, turning her head away from him as she said it. He didn't understand why she had to be there, he didn't understand why of all people Maka was there... and why was he in hospital for? What had happened to him?

He remembered at that moment. He remembered flames engulfing him, he remembered the candle he placed on the ground near the ceiling, he remembered falling. A stabbing pain transacted to his head, the same place where he'd fell. The pain was excruciating, something like he'd never felt before. It felt worse than when he found out about Maka's dark secret and his heart had been theoretically ripped out. It felt worse than when he saw his own mother die before his very eyes. It was unbearable. He closed his eyes hard, squinting and clenched his teeth together in a poor attempt to not scream in pain, but all in vain. "AHHH! My.. my head!" He shouted, Maka turning her head once again, her grass green eyes enlarged, her doll-like mouth slightly open and gasped delicately, trying not to react to something.

The door opened, revealing a mundane looking Professor Stein, his eyes droopier than usual, his hair messy and unkempt. Nygus on the other hand was quiet the opposite, his oxymoron. Her skin glowed, her smooth dark skin radiating against the sunlight that shone in the room, her bandages were looking on the worse side on the other hand, but above that she looked better than anyone in the room. "Wow. I guess Black Blood is even able to recover that too. I misunderstood it. It would be nice to do some more investigating on it-"

"That's quiet enough, Stein let's not do more harm to Soul than what's already happened" Nygus snapped back at him, her eyebrows creased in disagreement. "Harm? Ah! God dammit! What... What harm?" Soul exclaimed, his eyes open wide, wanting someone to tell him what had happened after he blacked out. "I'm surprised he was able to recover that quickly, to be honest, and by the looks of it, the markings have healed rapidly" Stein added, not answering Soul's question, much to his displeasure. "Professor, I don't understand, how can someone who's been in a coma-"

"A COMA?" Soul shouted, Maka looking his way once again, and then turning her head back to her teacher. "-Recover so quickly and be able to talk like nothing has happened?" She enquired, her tone escalating from her expression. "It's the black blood, Maka. He still has it running through his veins, it must have hardened his outer layer of skin, that's why they're hardly visible, that's why he's able to talk so soon after being in a deep sleep-"

"WILL SOMEBODY FUCKING LISTEN TO ME!" Soul shouted, straining his neck, his skin felt like It was being torn and moulded into a new position, the performance of this causing unbelievable pain. All three. Meisters and Weapon turned to him, only Maka's eyes able to read. Something was wrong and she didn't want to tell him. She couldn't tell him, it'd ruin him. "Explain to me! Why... Why I am in hospital? Why is nobody giving me any answers and how the fuck have I been in a coma!?" He demanded angrily, his teeth clenched together once again out of the pain he felt and the anger that ran through him. "Maka... I think it'd be better if you explained, me and the good doctor here..." Nygus gently side kicked him, her signal for them to have time alone. "...have some examining and paper work to attend to." She finalised, the two adults heading out of the door.

Maka turned to Soul once again, hesitant to look at him and opened her mouth, ready to talk. "Maka... what are you not telling me. Answer me... please" Soul asked of her, his words sang out graciously, covering the rough tone that lay beneath. She breathed in and let out a heavy sigh, and placed her hand on his delicately, her eyes stared into his reassuringly. "Soul... what do you remember before you went into... this.

.. coma?"

"Not much, I remember flames, I remember falling, I remember hitting my head, and everything before that too" He said darkly, assuring to her that he knew what she'd done. "That's good then, so you've not got amnesia. Soul when you fell on the floor... there were flames all around you... my papa got you out of there when we went to get my stuff with me... the apartment is ruined... all our stuff is burnt to a crisp, nothing remains except some scraps of burnt furniture cloth from the sofa and one of the curtains" Maka added, tears swam down her eyes. She didn't Soul to see her like this despite the bad blood between them at the present time. She didn't want to be the weak one, the one to be looked after when it was him who needed aid, it was him who would have to be taken care of.

"How long was I in a coma for?" Despite the words coming out of his mouth, he could hardly believe them. He could hardly believe he was in a coma. He still felt Maka's hand on his, giving him a cooling effect from the impulsive burning he felt all over. "... 10 days. I've never seen someone recover to quickly, but Professor Stein thinks it's from the black blood that courses through you. You're lucky to have it or... well everything could've turned out worse."

"Worse? How?"

"...It's not my place to say, really. I think it would be better for you if you... if you looked yourself" Maka gulped, nervous and shaking slightly, her heart pounding, her back slightly sweating. She was terrified at his reaction, terrified he would do something drastic after what he saw. She was terrified at what was to come next. "Maka, can you hand me that mirror please?" Soul asked, pointing weakly to the mirror that hung perfectly on the wall, the design had the school's skull crest embedded into it, the gothic architecture pleasing Soul, the only thing that highlighted his day.

"Maybe later on, right now I need to discuss some things with you" she contradicted, not wanting to show him what he looked like. _"What could be possibly wrong? I mean I'm aching all over, but they're just bruises, right?"_. "Maka... can you hand me that mirror? I want to see myself." Soul repeated, getting irritated that no one is accepting his request, yet again. "Soul... please listen to me. The apartment is getting refurbished so you won't be able to go in for at least a month, Joe Buttataki has some really, really slow workers" Maka dryly laughed in a monotone voice, an awful joke coming out of her mouth.

"Your father told me he's on a business trip in South America stuck in an Amazonian village so he won't be able to get to you in time. Your brother, on the other hand has visited a few times but we've both agreed it'd be best if... if you were to stay with me. Lord Death has got us an accommodation set up for the both of us that we can use to our heart's desire until the apartment is fixed up again... then you and I can go our separate ways. I'll stay with my papa until I find a new place and-"

"What makes you think I wanna stay with you of all people? I'd rather have Blair look after me than you, and she's a cat" Soul replied sternly, a vacant expression on his face. Why _would_ he want to live with her any longer after all she had done to him? Why would he want to live with his ex-girlfriend?

"Soul... Wes and I both agreed it was for the best... that you live with me, there's no one else like me around who knows you like I do..." She placed her hand on his face and stroked it gently, before having it shook off from the demon Scythe

"...I can look after you. With Wes working all the time it'd take him three hours per trip to see you every day, and he hardly gets any time for himself- which includes sleep- it wouldn't be healthy for him. And yes, before you ask, he knows. He knows everything. He's angry at me to say the least and at Black Star too, he told me they've been strong acquaintances for quite a while and was particularly shocked. Please Soul, please consider my offer, you don't have much choice, but your approval would make it easier to go by"

"One condition" Soul gave up, Maka was stubborn and there was no way he would be able to decline to request that was more of a forced action on him that he didn't particularly want. He knew Maka was able to look after well, too well in fact that it didn't seem real sometimes. He thought back to the days when he was ill, the days where she would bring him chicken soup when ever he wanted, the abundance of water always available at his bed side table, the cold face cloths she always patted on his head when he got too hot. "What condition would that be? Anything you want shall be accepted" She replied cheerfully, a small smile on her face, trying to raise both spirits in the room.

"Give me the mirror. I want to see myself. I want to see these 'markings' on my face" He asked of her once again, déjà vu occurring. He felt like asking for the mirror was deemed to be cyclical, but it was a condition that Maka couldn't refuse if she were to be his personal carer for the next few weeks. She looked hesitant once again, but as Soul looked properly at her, he could see her in more detail. Dark large rings were painted under her eyes that drooped like a blood hound's, her skin looked gaunt and she seemed frail altogether. "Have you been sleeping?" Soul asked, questioning her deep under eye circles.

"For a few hours a day, I wanted to be awake in case you woke up. Thankfully I was awake but now... I really should hit the sack" Maka bellowed, before yawning, placing her small hand over her mouth, her eyes squinting as she did.

"Not before you show me my reflection Maka, you promised that you would. A good person never breaks their promises, do they?" He asked her hypocritically from when he broke his own promise a long, long time ago...

_The air was cold with a thick fog that cast over it, Maka dressed in a thicker coat than usual, Soul in the same type of fashion – a black parka with faux fur around the edges, whilst his Meister dressed in pink with fluffy white ear muffs that matched the snow around him. "It's too quiet Maka, I don't like it, something isn't right. Can you sense anything nearby?"_

"_Yeah, I sense a powerful soul wavelength. It's twisted and slightly demonic, blood lust runs through it's veins. It's definitely kishin" She replied back, a worried tone expressed from her vocal cords. _

"_Well we better go stop it then, shouldn't we?" He added, a smirk erect on his face, Maka blushing slightly, her cheeks painted a dusty rose colour. Walking on for a few minutes later the fog seemingly got thicker and thicker as the lighting around them got dimmer and dimmer, some lamps occasionally flicking on and off, teasing Maka and Soul's vision. The buildings around them looked more degraded and run down as they went deeper into the fog? Could this be reality or a mere illusion from the Kishin they set out to find? "Promise me something Soul."_

"_Yeah? What is it?"_

"_Promise me that you won't do anything that could get you injured, yeah?"_

"_...I promise Maka" Soul accepted, as he placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled mockingly to her, sticking out his tongue"_

"_Soul I mean it!" Maka replied back to him, slapping him teasingly on the back of his head with a blue book that magically appeared. Apparently this wasn't a 'Maka Chop' time, but a new form of punishment towards him. "Yeah and so do I! I promise I won't do anything too rash okay!" He assured her as the two began walking again, Soul's hands in his pockets, his head tilted down as he kicked the snow in his way, creating little snow hills..._

"_Maka look out!" The demon Scythe exclaimed as he grabbed her and moved her out the way, sending them both on the floor, inches away from a long metal blade smashing into the ground, the cobblestone breaking, sending some of the floor flying into the air before collapsing back into the ground. "Now Soul!"_

"_Already on it, Maka!" Soul shouted back to her as he transformed into his Scythe form, the shiny metal blade shone beautifully against the moon light. Maka spun him around with the mere twist of her fingers gracefully as if it were a ballet performance intertwined with martial arts. Running towards the shadow where the kishin had impacted, the fog getting thicker Maka could sense she soul next to her, turning around she saw a paw with jagged metal claws pounding down. The paw itself had black fur on it with dark brown stripes that scattered all over it, something that would disgust Kid to the point where he could kill it in a heart beat. The metal was dirty, dull and broken in areas, hence the jaggedness. Jumping into the air, pulling her arms back, ready for Soul to take a blow to the Kishin's body, Maka saw yet another disfigured paw clobbering down onto the floor – with her underneath it. Falling down and feeling the claws pressing hard onto her human body Maka felt her Scythe transforming from her hand back into this human form, falling on top of her, the claws piercing his body, black and red blood spewing out at the same time. _

"_Soul!" Maka cried out, her Weapon having the scattered metal blades removed from his back and raised back into the air once again. Maka moved him out of the way as the two rolled over on the deserted road into the thick fog to recover. A demonic voice pierced the duo's ear drums ringing sounds echoes every where. "Where...are...you...little children? Me...OWW!" the Kishin screamed, both humans putting their hands over their heads._

"_Soul! Are you okay?" Maka asked him, staring at his holes in his ripped padded jacket._

"_Don't worry about me Maka, I've got the black blood to help me recover, remember?" Soul whispered back to her, slowly getting up from the ground, hearing the Kishin getting anxious, searching for them like a demonic detective. "Soul you know you can't always rely on the black blood! Sooner or later there's gonna be a time when it can't help you! What happens if you die, Soul? What happens if the black blood isn't enough?!" She exclaimed back to him, annoyed that he'd broken his promise. "You said that you wouldn't do anything too rash!"_

"_Maka I am your Weapon so I'm prepared to die for you!"_

"_But I don't want you to die for me Soul! Can't you understand that? Forget the rules for once will you? Stop acting like a masochistic hero and act like a human sometimes!" She loudly shouted, giving away their position in the dead of night. "I'm sorry Maka" Soul transformed back into his Weapon form, Maka still on the ground, her Weapon in her hand, the blade high up in the air. The paw came down quickly, and she could feel a claw touching her face, the sharp point sending negative receptors to her brain, emphasising the pain of an open wound. _

_That was as far as the claw would go, for Soul's blade was more powerful and longer than the claws and had tabbed right into the paw, an eerie screeching, shattering the glass from the lamps outside, the bulbs going too. _

_Complete and utter darkness. _

"_Maka I can't see where he is in my Weapon form, but you know where he is from his soul's wavelength, right?"_

"_Yeah, but I don't wanna give our position away, ready Soul?" She asked, smiling darkly, ready for the Kishin to attack._

"_Ready as ever, Maka" Soul grinned back at her, scratching the back of his head somewhat._

"_Lets go! Soul Resonance!" They both shouted together, moving out of the way into a new position as they gave it away for the final time. They could feel it. They could feel the electric spark between their two souls connecting, making them stronger, more agile and more powerful and as one. They could go into each other's minds, see what they were thinking, they could hear each other's thoughts, the one's they needed to hear and the ones that were meant to be private. Together their souls united and acted as one, Maka knowing every move the Kishin took, never missing an attack, blocking when needed and cutting the Kishin's deadly skin. _

"_It's no use Soul, he's too strong" Maka sighed in her head, her heavy breathing, from moving around all the time, was silent as the grave. Funny it was something that all people should know how to control, heavy breathing... all except one, of course. Black Star..._

"_Then we'll just have to be stronger won't we, Maka?" Soul replied back to her in an excited tone, grinning again. She looked at her Weapon, her partner, her Soul. She couldn't imagine a better suited partner than him any day. Tsubaki and the Thompson sisters wouldn't have been right for her, being girls they would clash. It was something about having the opposite sex in WeaponXMeister duos that made bonds so much better, in Maka's opinion and the bond between Maka and Soul couldn't have been greater than anyone else in a pairing. "Okay, here we go Soul!" Maka thought to her partner, focusing more on her wavelength now. Jumping up in the air again, her arms swung to the back of her, she decided on her next move. With gravity taking it's role, Soul transformed into a beautiful spectral blade, the eye larger than usual, his wave length pulsing through it, circulating all around like the blood in his body. "Kishin hunter!" Maka cried out, pin pointing the Kishin's position in the worst winter conditions. A ray of light from the blade caught sight of the Kishin's face... an evil looking disfigured cat who's ears were almost singed off, their black eyes matching their black fur, highlighting that he was even more disgusting and unworthy of existing. The blade sliced through the Kishin like a hot knife through butter. _

_The Kishin turned into ash at their very feet as Soul transformed back into his human form, ready to devour the strawberry red soul. Grabbing it and without any consideration that Maka had worked for it too, he threw it to the back of his mouth and chewed on it violently before greedily swallowing it. _

"_Tasty? You know I did work for that too, you could at least have let me hold it or something, you know"_

"_Jeez, sorry I didn't realise you were that interested in Kishin souls. Well I can't sick it back up, the feeling would be too gross" _

"_Hmm I guess you're right, maybe next time yeah? Hopefully you won't be injured as per usual and I won't have to be saved by you-"_

"_-As per usual" Soul interrupted mockingly, teasing her and began to laugh like a child._

"_Maka...CHOP!"_

"_Fuck sake Maka! God that hurt!" Soul whined in pain, rubbing his head to relieve the pain without luck. "How have you always got books with you! Is there like a library in your coat or something?" He asked her, teasing her once again. _

"_Come on Soul, you know I don't mean the 'Maka Chop' all the time, and no there isn't a library in my coat, it's the padding to keep me warm" She jokingly relied back, smiling as they walked away from the battle ground and into the light again. _

_Suddenly, little white specks began falling from the sky, twirling and dancing around before hitting the ground. Some fell on Maka's thick eyelashes, making her blink every so often for them to melt off, whist the ones that fell in Soul's hair camouflaged themselves in like a polar bear in the snowy Arctic. Sharp rings of a nearby bell began to toll and they both stopped to listen to how many went by to determine the time ._

"_Twelve rings, you know what that means, don't you Maka?"_

"_It's finally snowing, on today of all days in Amsterdam. What a great way to star it off. Happy Christmas, Soul"_

"_You too Maka, happy Christmas" He finalised as the two embraced each other in the early morning, after completing their mission, with Soul's first present was the Kishin soul he'd been longing to take for his own..._

"Maka I'm getting irritated now, why won't you show me?" Soul asked her for the fourth time, before moving about in his bed, trying to get up in vain. His body ached and he could see bruises on his arms blotched all over from every shade starting from off yellow to a deep plum. "Is this is? This is why you won't show me? Because I have a few bruises on me that'll go away in a few days? Huh? Where are you going?" He demanded of her as he saw her walking outside the room...

"Professor, Nygus... he wants to see his reflection. What should I do?" A worried Maka asked of her elders, unsure whether she should go along with Soul's compromise.

"You have to do what your soul tells you, Maka. You do it now or later. Either way he will find out, he will see." Stein told her, lighting a cigarette at the most inappropriate of times.

"I'm afraid of what he will do though when he sees, Professor. Nygus, what do you think?" Nygus swivelled her chair around, looking at the young Meister, and then at Stein, placing her fingers over the end of the burning cigarette, and pulling it out from his mouth. Clearly by her eyes she disagreed with smokers altogether. "Well first off, you need to get some sleep, go take a nap in the bed next to Soul's I'm sure he'll be all right with it. As for the mirror thing... it's your decision. If you love him, you'll do what you think is best for him, that's all I can say for now. Good luck" Nygus ended with the swivelling of her chair around again, her head smothered in her paper work, a pen scribbling away in her hand, moving in all rotations.

"Thank you. Both of you." Maka politely answered back before heading back into the room where Soul was.

He looked pretty pissed and in pain at the same time. "Well? What was that?" He enquired of her, his hand raised at the door, before slowly putting is back down from the restraints his skin was giving him. "I ask one thing of you Maka and you can't even..." Soul stopped talking as he saw Maka walking to the other side of the room and hovering over an ebony table to reach the grand mirror off of the wall. She had to show him. It was like what Nygus said, if she loved him she'd do what was best. What was best was to show him, because in the end, no matter what he said, she did love him. She was still in love with him and nothing would ever change that. Placing the reflective side of the mirror close to her heart so Soul wouldn't see before she allowed him she walked slowly over to the end of his wooden bed and stood there. "Are you sure you want to do this, Soul?"

"Don't be dumb, what could be possibly wrong?"

Maka didn't answer, but gulped, took in a large lungful of air and slowly turned the mirror around, revealing Soul's reflection to himself...


	16. Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder

_Author's note- I couldn't bare not to update this after I went through the two chapters quickly, I needed to finish off the little hectic scenario that everyone was going through, even though I'm writing to chapters for two different stories at the same time which is cray cray right? Anyways enjoy! ^.^_

_- The Pouting Horse_

**Chapter 16 – Beauty in the eye of the beholder**

Looking into his own reflection, the boy with the snowy hair and ox-blood eyes stared, his mouth gaped open, the holder of the mirror shaking it ever so slightly out of their own nervousness. He saw everything. He saw the bruises scattered over his face as if a child had finer painted with purple, blue yellow and green, the majority on on side of his face near his eye making him look more mundane than a depressed spirit. He saw the scorched marks imprinted on his skin, cascading down from his left jaw down to his collar bone, shining against the sun light, but creased, making them neither mesmerising or hideous to look at. The boy felt as if all the luck in the world suddenly turned its back on him, torturing him with his new distinguished features, provoking him. Bruises dotted everywhere on both of him arms, the burn on his neck vined all over it. He touched it with his fingers, feeling no sense of touch there. Looking down at his fingers he saw the majority of them had also been burnt, singed so that a smooth canvas of skin lay there, his finger prints removed, with creased skin waiting at the bottom.

"It's... it's not as bad as it was... it's a good thing the black blood was there to help you heal. The cuts have sealed up fine, but it couldn't renew all of your skin... Soul?"

"Is that..." Soul began, his voice weak, his body shaking. He couldn't understand who the unfamiliar person staring at him back in the mirror was. "...Is that me? Is that what has become of me?" He asked her, feeling salty liquid forming at the corners of his eyes. He was ruined. He was disgusting and morose, he felt a dark cloud of depression hanging over him, never leaving, as if it was a compulsory permanent attachment to his new appearance.

"Soul... calm down-"

"Calm down? Calm down?! Look at me Maka! I'm burnt on most of my neck, I can't feel anything when I use my left hand because I've had my nerves in my skin burnt off! And you're telling me to calm down!? Maka you don't understand what it feels like to be me right now? How can I show myself around... looking like this? I don't want anyone to see me! Just go away Maka!" Soul cried out, gathering the bed sheets that were down to his waist and pulled him over his head, turning on his right side where he wasn't burnt.

"Soul please understand me. You only got burned where you can see, my papa got to you in time before the ceiling collapsed in on you or... well lets just say it could have been worse" Maka replied softly, placing the mirror down onto the floor, leaning it against his bed and began walking to his side, only to see his body shaking somewhat at the top. She could hear him whimpering, she could hear Soul Eater Evans crying and she didn't know what to do. She felt helpless, as if she were the injured one, incapable of performing the simplest of tasks. She grabbed the chair that was next to the opposite bed, slung it over to her side and sat on it the wrong way around, her legs wrapped over the back of the chair like Professor Stein would do, her arms hung pathetically over the back rest. "I thought... I thought I told you to go away. Maka go, I've already said I don't want anyone to see me, especially like this" he murmured, she sheets still on him as he snorted the mucus running down his nose. Maka placed her small ivory hand on the top of the bed sheets and pulled them down, but all in vain as Soul tugged on them in hope she wouldn't reveal his ruined face to her.

"I'm disgusting Maka I don't want you looking at me! I don't want anyone to see me!" The Weapon shouted, forcing the bed sheets out of her hand, slinging them over himself, his spiky hair outlining where his head lay. She couldn't prevail against his stubbornness, it was a skirmish she knew she couldn't win, especially in Soul's delicate condition. He was right, she had no idea what he was going through. She'd never been in a situation like this. Sure she didn't have the best assets in the world but she'd never been in a situation where she'd not recovered fully, the most drastic thing would have been when she broke her ankle. She'd never been burnt, and when she bruised she healed quickly from her thick skin yielding to the impact, and she rarely got blemishes on her face either, due to her swear-by all natural skin care products.

"I'll give you some space. I... I won't be long"

"Go, take all the time you need I don't want anyone coming in, seeing me like this. Not until something changes with the way I look. One way or another" He groaned, moving around in the bed, sniffling every so often. Walking away from his sick bed she opened the door to the reception area and out into the main corridor of the DWMA. Looking back for once last time as the boy under the bed sheets she sighed and stared at him with awe and sorrow, before heading out, closing the door behind her...

"Professor Stein, Nygus... I just hope I did the right thing. He's really upset and he doesn't want anyone to see him. I know I shouldn't have-"

"Maka, if you did what you think was right, then it was the best thing to do. Like I said before, he was going to find out someday and it was the best timing that he saw himself... you were there with him, one of the closest people ever to him and it I know you'll always stay by his side no matter what. Even in your current situation I know you'd never leave him on his own" Nygus interrupted her eyes looked sincere and kind, a sense of warmth surrounded her. She turned her head in Stein's direction who was looking out of the window. "Hey, Stein, haven't you got a class to teach now? You don't want to be late... again" She asked the Meister, his head turning to the Weapon's direction, a cigarette once again hanging from his mouth, staring at her, looking directly at her soul whilst she glared at him for having yet another lit roll of tobacco in his mouth. "Professor, we gotta go the bell's ringing and hey, aren't I in your class next?" Maka asked cheerfully, despite the camaraderie in the room. "Yeah we better get going, I have a duck billed platypus waiting in there and it needs dissecting"

"Professor do you know how rare they are?!" Maka exclaimed, shocked by his twisted decision. Never the less the two of them proceeded to walk out of the room, Stein leaving first, leaving Nygus by herself. Before Maka went out, she creeped her head around the door to the demon Blade. "Nygus... is there any information on... what's been happening... what I've been feeling?" she asked her worryingly, her heart pounding. "I'm not sure, the test I've run haven't detected anything, but are you sure you haven't been on-"

"I'm... I'm sure... it's never happened before, it's always at the same time, it's been like this since about a month and a half ago... I'm just worried, that's all"

"You should be... something like this without any reason behind it that we can identify is not natural Maka, but I suggest you go see a professional on it, not just the average school nurse"

"Oh Nygus, but you're better than the average school nurse. If it wasn't for you and Stein then Soul would be... well worse than what he already is, let's put it at that. Thank you, Nygus. Thanks for everything" Maka ended her words softly and headed out the door, closing it behind her with a gentle touch...

"_Oh my gosh is that Soul? What happened to him?"_

"_Eugh, how can he show his face looking like that?"_

"_He used to be really cute looking and now... well, no wonder he and Maka broke up why would she wanna date THAT"_

"_At least get some surgery done on it. If it were me I'd rather die than look like something that came from the gates of hell" All the voices from the shapeless bodies sniggered, mocking him, making a fol out of him, making him more depressed than what he already was. _'They're right, I should just die. Why would anyone wanna hang out with me when I look like this?' _Soul thought to himself, his thoughts spinning all over, blinding his way. His vision became blurred, and he was in a new scene..._

_It was raining at night, Soul's hair falling to the sides of his face as he stood outside of Kid, Patty and Liz's house, peering into the window. They were all there; Maka, Black Star, Tsubaki, Kid, Liz, Patty, even Crona, although he was somewhat in the background hiding away, Ragnarok poking him in the head because he wasn't getting any food. He heard them talking, laughing, enjoying each other's company. "So Maka... how are things going between you and Black Star now?" Kid asked her, Soul seeing Black Star's tan arm wrapped tightly around her waist as she sat next to him, almost on his lap. _'what the... since when we Maka and Black Star together!?'_ Soul questioned himself, unable to answer his thoughts. 'Well as you all know we've been going for two months now and trust me, he's the best I've ever had" The words... no the lies that shot out of Maka's mouth shocked Soul. He couldn't believe it. Was this a dream or reality? It seemed too real to comprehend with. He hated seeing them two together. It reminded him of the pictures he saw of them, engaging with each other, embracing each other. It made his heart rot to the core._

"_Of course I'm the best she's ever had, there's no way I can be beat at anything. Tell everyone Maka, go on. Tell them how great I am in bed, I bet I'm way better than Soul ever was" Soul gasped, shocked and disgusted at what he was hearing. _'So they've been having sex... in only a two month relationship!? It took me and Maka months before we ever did something like that, and it didn't even happen!" _That was it. Soul was pissed off, he marched to the door, in attempt to open it but without luck, the door wouldn't barge open, he heard someone giggling and went to the large perfectly symmetrical window once again. "Well... I really shouldn't be talking about our private lives in front of all of you it's kinda embarrassing"_

"_Maka how is it embarrassing? We have great sex!" The thought made Soul sick to his stomach, graphic images appeared in his head of those two together, they were disturbing, scarring him for life. _

"_Black Star shush! Ugh! Okay then it is... entertaining and yeah, he is better than Soul..." What was she saying? Was she being forced to say all this? He couldn't believe it. He wouldn't believe it. He couldn't do anything to shut her up, to close his gaping idiotic mouth either. They all laughed in synchronisation, each with their own tone and pitch, Crona's being the most monotone, finally walking back to sit on one of the red and black sofa's in their circle. Apparently Ragnarok had gotten bored of him and went back into his body, his arms tired from hitting him after an hour. _

"_Say, does anyone know what happened to Soul?" Liz asked the group, but non answered, the whole room fell silent._

"_I'm not sure, I think he went away after the whole 'accident' thing. I wouldn't be surprised, why, if that happened to me, if I were less symmetrical than my disgusting being already is, I wouldn't have the courage to show my face." Kid finally answered, breaking the awkwardness in the room._

"_Yeah when me and Patty saw him, he looked a total wreck, I couldn't believe that was him!" Tsubaki added, with Patty nodding in agreement, sitting next to Kid, holding his hand slightly. _

"_I don't even know why I bothered with him, you know. Sure he was a good partner fighting Kishins and all but... as private as it is and I have no idea why I am even telling you this... but there was no passion, no spark." Soul's heart dropped and felt like it'd gone into his stomach, waiting for the acids to disintegrate it, destroying all of his happy emotions..._

'Why... why is this happening to me? What... what did I do... to deserve this punishment?!'_ The demon Scythe questioned himself once again, and once again his enquires were unable to be answered. It began to blur once again, impairing Soul's vision. This time it was black. A pure black, bottomless, side-less, lifeless void he could not escape from. He couldn't even see where he was, he couldn't think, he couldn't talk, he felt like he couldn't breathe either. That's when he heard it. A voice. Her voice. "Soul...?"..._

"Soul? It's Maka you've been asleep for a couple of hours, just wanted to know if you wanted to wake up, you need something to eat and drink, you know?" Maka asked, as he opened his eyes to see a soft drink and his favourite takeaway stored in a carrier bag, holding it in her hand, the wonderful aroma's climbing up his nostrils, making him feel nostalgic and hungry at the same time. _'It was... only a dream... I think' _ Soul pondered to himself, wondering why he would dream something so awful. She grabbed the bed side table next to an empty bed and placed them on there, waiting for him to respond. He only let his eyes creep above the bed sheets, still not wanting anyone to see his face more than they already had done. "Talk to me at least? You've gotta eat something, me and Stein have been giving you that disgusting icky stuff you put in someone's stomach via a tube when you were... well when you were in your coma. It wasn't the best stuff, and you look gaunt-"

"Gaunt... is that it? I just look gaunt to you? How about disfigured, disgusting, horrific. Do any of those come to mind? Tell me the truth Maka..." Soul's aching body got up from under the sheets and sat himself up in a chair sitting position, his scar burn revealed. Her emeralds locked onto his rubies, her eye sockets creased, an angry expression on her face. She placed the food she had started preparing down again on the small ebony table. "Now you listen to me Soul Eater Evans and you listen good. You're lucky you're alive, you're lucky that these scars have healed and to be honest, during the whole time you've been here I haven't once took notice of them, and no one else will. You know what I think when I look at you Soul?"

"Spare me your words, I know they're just a pack of lies you say to make me feel better."

"No. What I'm telling you is the truth. When I see you, I see... a lonely boy, a boy who is a little rough around the edges, can be a little twisted sometimes with his actions, but above all, I see a boy blossoming into a fine young man who is without a doubt beautiful. To me Soul you're the most beautiful person ever and nothing will ever change that. You're still so beautiful to me even with the scar that is hardly there, I mean, look at the scar that's across your body, Soul... when we were...together... did I notice it at all when we were intimate with each other? No. I didn't notice it once because you're beautiful on both the outside and the inside. No one is going to notice the burn on you, sure they'll see it for the first time around, but no one will bother to look at it" She sat on the bed and grabbed his hand, staring into his eyes once more. "People gets scars all the time, heck even my papa has one on his leg from when he was our age, do you think anyone cares about it? Of course not! If it wasn't for you, I'd have sca-" Maka was stopped in her speech, her eyes widened as she felt something in close contact to her.

She felt his soft hand on her face, she felt his smooth lips in contact with her baby-like ones. She had no idea why he was kissing her, they weren't together any more and she doubted that he loved her at that point, so why was he doing it? She pulled away, even though she didn't want to. She still loved him deeply. "Soul what are you doing? Why... why did you kiss me?" She asked him, shocked and jolted by his actions.

"Is is really a question that needs the already obvious answer? He replied to her. Holding his good hand to her face once again, his thumb stroking her soft milky skin.

"I've been stupid Maka. So incredibly stupid and blind. You were right in saying that I didn't listen to you, I never gave you or Black Star the chance to properly explain yourself until afterwards, by then I was too angry, too pissed off to consider anything. I'm sorry Maka... I'm so, so sorry. I should have known from the beginning you wouldn't do anything like that to me without some drastic explanation, or Black Star either, I just felt so betrayed, I felt like my heart was being slowly eaten away. And now look at me, even though I look awful... you still see past these burns, these... scars that will permanently be there. I... despite everything Maka... the truth is... what I'm trying to tell you is... I still..." Soul look in a deep breath and altered his position in bed, his arm throbbing in pain still. "...I still love you Maka and I want to start over, if we can? I know you might not want to get back together, but when you said I was beautiful, part of me realised just how much I think you're beautiful back, just how much your complexion mesmerises me. It's true what they say – that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I know not many other's think you're the best looking girl in the world but to me, you're perf-" Soul was stopped in his tracks by Maka's wet lips pressing passionately onto his , his eyes were still open, seeing her closed ones pouring tears down them. He didn't know whether it's what he said to her or due to what she said to him, either way he joined into her act, his burnt hand wrapping itself around her small dainty waist. He missed it. He missed touching her so badly, that it felt as if it'd been a life time since he last touched her. He wanted to feel every aspect of her body, yet he couldn't with his damaged fingers, but his palm could. He moved it around her waist, feeling the dimensions of the curvy figure, finding its way going up her shirt slowly before they were interrupted by the sound of a door knob turning.

A tall figure with hanging, white hair came through, his red eyes staring down at the two wearing his usual casual fashion— a white dress shirt, the top button undone, his dark trousers that came with a belt and black leather shoes. "Ah... crap am I interrupting anything?" He asked awkwardly, seeing his brother's hand up Maka's arm, revealing her slim figure. He didn't like it though, after all _she_ did to him, after he ended up in here because he went to go get _her_ boxesit made him angry to see them like that after everything that escalated ten days ago. In a way though, he was happy to see them together, most of all he was happy that he had her, he was happy that Soul was happy, the happiest he'd seen him in years.

Wes didn't get to see his brother much, ever since he found out that he was a weapon, Soul escaped and headed for the DWMA where he met Maka, and after that only a few times he'd seen him, Maka accompanying him, addressing her as 'that girl'. It'd been five years since he'd last seen him, par when he came to see him nine days ago, rushing in as soon as he could. It was worse back then, his scars were much much worse. They were raw, black and red, his bruises covered almost his entire face. It didn't even look like Soul, but a crash dummy painted purple and red. It terrified him to know that it'd happened to his little brother, even though Soul felt inferior towards him, Wes was still caring and loved him in that brotherly way that a mother and child couldn't understand. "No...well... sorta" Soul replied back to him, a small smile erect on his face as he and Maka sorted themselves out, Maka flattening out her school uniform, dusting off something that wasn't there, just like in movies everyone sees.

Soul of the other hand looked at his brother, confused as to whether or not he should say something to him. It'd been five years since the last time he saw him, what was he meant to say to him. He had to think of something, or he might not ever get the chance like this again, seeing how Soul was always away with his job. "Uh... Hey, Wes. Maka, this is my brother Wes"

"I couldn't have guessed even if I tried" Maka said sarcastically "But it might have been the hair and the eyes that could've given me some sort of clue to identify some relation" She giggled once more, Soul cracking another small, weak smile. "We've already introduced each other, nine days ago to be exact, when you were undergoing a lot of medical attention... It... It frightened me Soul. Despite not seeing you after all these years, after you ran away to be here, it frightened me seeing you like this. When they told me you were in a coma, I couldn't bear to believe it. I'm sorry I haven't spoken to you in such a long time, I have no excuses to back me up."

"Wes. Shut up for a second will you?" Soul asked him mockingly, teasing him, that same small weak smile on his face. "You don't have to apologise, I'm tired of people always apologising to me lately, it's my turn." He added as he looked at Maka directly in her emeralds, and back to his brother.

In Soul's eyes, Wes looked healthier, happier and much more grown up. Despite the bad blood between them he was happy that his brother had come to see him, he needn't feel inferior to him any more, he was happy the way he was... with some exceptions – the main one being his ruined skin which was now his biggest insecurity. He was a demon Scythe hoping to become a Death Scythe – something that Wes would never be able to do. He had a wonderful girl who would always stay by his side who, after everything, after all the truth, all the lies, all the sweat, blood and tears still loved him, even if he didn't to her at first. She saw him under his new body inside, making him feel warmer, giving him some hope in his tragic time.

"Maka, if it's alright with you, then I would like to have a moment or two with my brother please?" Wes asked her politely. Naturally she accepted, being as he hadn't spoken to him in such a long time it was only granted that she should let them talk to each other without interruption. Heading for the door, she turned to Soul and smiled at him, before closing it, waiting outside she sat down on Professor Stein's unused chair, examining the many various stitches he'd put in it after tearing it to shreds. His sewing skills were appalling, even with his bottle end thick glasses on.

"What the... why are you and her... I don't understand... have I missed something?" Wes asked his brother, his eyebrow arched, a stern look on his face.

"It's all very complicated Wes, believe me. The main point is that even though I may look Mr Hyde right now from being Dr Jekyll, she still saw me for who I truly was, not letting my blemishes get in the way. She loves me and I love her too... that's the most important thing right?"

"Maybe so, but I don't like it, Soul. Think about it, she slept with Black-"

"-That's _old _history now Wes, we're trying to move on from it. Respect that."

"Fine. But after what she did, and she didn't tell you about it, having you finding out they way you did... Maka told me everything, I was surprised by her telling absolutely everything, even what she did to you. Honesty is on her side, but at a late expense. I'm gonna tell you this once and only once. You've got to be more aware of things, you've got to be ready for anything that comes your way. You've got to be ready if she breaks your heart again because I won't be there to support you through it"

"Why? What's the matter?"

"Nothing bad really... it's just that... I've decided, just like dad is that I'm gonna travel the world, mainly the extreme climates. If something happens to me there and I-"

"Please don't say die. I've had enough of death for the time being." Soul snapped back at him, referring to their mother from his last day before he went to sleep for two hundred and forty three hours without waking up. "Did you... did you go to Mom's grave by any chance the first day you arrived here? The cemetery is about an hour drive out of Death City, you can take my motor-"

"-I've already been thanks" Wes replied blank in a quick, blank expression. "Well if that's everything, then I'd better be off I'm meant to be back at work but they let me off for four hours to come see you, I should be heading back now if I don't wanna be late and have to face the wrath of my boss and her irritating whiny voice."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever. Thanks for coming bro, and sorry for everything in the past, I never got the chance to tell you" Soul said back, the cyclical weak smile appearing once more.

"Thanks for letting me see you, recover well Soul, keep your friends close but your enemies closer"

"Crap lines again?" Soul chuckled, a half smile crept on Wes' face before he closed the door behind him, leaving Soul in isolation once more...

"Leaving so soon Wes?" Maka asked with a chipper expression.

"... Yes... now Maka you listen to me and you listen well because I'm not repeating myself to the likes of you" Wes snapped back her, his words were filed with anger and disgust. "If you ever do anything like this to my brother again. If you slip up, if you give me any reason that you might hurt my brother again, then the next time you see an Evans , it shall be me" He lowered his face to meet hers making him look more threatening, her heart pounding in fear. "Got it?" He said blankly, staring into her eyes, seeing her fear. Standing up straight again he walked out of the reception door and into the halls of the DWMA, heading for the white marble steps.


	17. The Diary of an OCD Kid

_Author's note – This chapter is set during the 10 day period from the previous chapter so for each chapter it's gonna be per day... so it'll be Kid's scenario day 1 then Black Star's and repeated for 20 chapters... but they're only gonna be around 1.5K words long so I can write MOAR! ^.^ Enjoy!_

_Also just finished reading chapter 113 of Soul Eater a couple of days ago... I'm gonna lie down... try not to cry... cry a lot X'(_

_* I had to put in the Kuroshitsuji reference the idea just came to me after the whole crab naming thing XD_

_- The Pouting Horse_

**Chapter 17 – The Diary of an OCD Kid**

"_Hey Kid! Come out to the ocean and have a swim with us... with me." A gentle, sweet and innocent voice asked the Grim Reaper. He tilted his head to the direction of the voice, the sun slightly blinding his eyes. He could see an outline of the figure, her dimensions, her hair, her sparkling blue eyes that he thought of as sapphires. She was beautiful, flawless, her youthful thick blonde eyebrows framed her whole face perfectly. In fact, to Kid her entire body was perfectly symmetrical. Sometimes he felt disgusted and low when he was near her and her perfect proportions. _

"_Patty, sorry but there are an unsymmetrical amount of crabs near the shore. I'm sorry but I simply can't go in"_

"_Kid..." Patty said as she leaned over, her head in lateral distance with his, their eyes meeting, piercing each others, reading their emotions. "If I move them away, will you come in with me? We're all wanting to see these amazing moves you and Beelzebub can do in the waves" She replied back softly, her small soft hand reached out to his, hoping he would accept her invitation. _

_True he did want to go and hang with his friends, to hang with her but there was always his OCD that got in the way, it was destroying his life both physically and emotionally. He considered Patty's invitation, and looked over her shoulder. He could see the sun, the warmth of the beach as it glowed, the sun radiating on it, the colour of the people's skin was as golden as the rocky shores that stood proudly on one side of the beach, above some foolish gang had always jumped from there, sometimes not making it out of the water alive._

_They were all there: Liz, Maka, Soul, Black Star, Tsubaki, heck even Crona was there, wearing some swimming shorts and a top unlike the rest of the teenage boys who donned their outfits topless, Black Star being egotistic once again, showing off his muscles, challenging anyone and everyone on the beach for an arm wrestle. Yeah, everyone was happy so why shouldn't Kid? This was the beach that belonged to his father, and when he passes, it will be his, legally. _

_In fact, everything in Death City would belong so Kid when Lord Death goes and rules the underworld once again. He'd lived over 1000 years, buried many a person, eaten the soul of many a Kishin and yet, there was always something about Lord Death that even his own son didn't know about. It pissed Kid off even thinking about his only parent not telling him everything. Since his mother died giving birth to him and he had to have a caesarian, he never got to know her. The only way he ever saw her was from one old, half ripped photo his father kept hidden away behind the mirror in the Death Room from when she was pregnant with him._

_Kid remembered the first time he ever saw the photo of his mother: her beautiful grey, shadow like eyes that went perfectly with her pale skin and long, yet black hair, that curled at the tips. She sat by herself, alone next to a window, looking picturesque as she leaned her nose into an orchid, presumably to smell it's basic yet wonderful aroma. _

_She was beautiful, and yet sad at the same time. His father never mentioned her mother – another thing that Lord Death kept as a secret._

"_Kid? You keep staring into thin air. Kid? KID!?" Patty shouted in his face, pulling it in all directions, her cruel yet brilliant actions prevailing. "Pa...tty... g...et... of...f me!" Kid asked of her, his words mumbled from her fingers still playing around with his mouth. The Grim Reaper put his hands on hers, a cooling effect ran down his spin at the touch of her warm smooth skin, but it only lasted a short while for he removed her indexes from his body, slightly not wanting them to be removed and lose her sweet taste. "Ugh, fine I'll come along, but only if there are an equal amount of creatures there, and Patty?"_

"_Eight each?" She asked, her lips curved into a smile as her eyes squinted to stop the sunlight irritating them, and half because she always smiled like that._

"_You know me too well, Patty" Kid replied to her warmly, a small yet handsome smile rose on his face, his cheeks raised, slightly blushing much to her idleness. _

Recently for Kid, there were days where he would think of her, she would be the main thing on his mind, granted that he never told anyone about his dark, brooding secret but he would never tell a soul. Rejection off her would be the end to him, he couldn't begin to imagine the day when she told his their feelings were unrequited. It wouldn't be pain that was felt, oh no. It would be love, a strong bond that can be sometimes difficult to break, especially for someone like Kid who had never really been in love before or had strong, slightly sexual, deeply romantic feelings for anyone and it scared him at points to even think so. He would always put himself down, dis-complementing himself on how he would be a terrible boyfriend and no one would ever want to be his wife. Those were the days both before and after Patty came into his life.

Unbeknown to Kid, however there were mutual feelings between him and the one he loved. She cared for him, cherished him, she even admitted her feelings in front of her sister and two girlfriends that she had a crush on Kid. She always put herself down, believing he would never go for a girl like her, her imperfections 'stood out like a sore eye', according to the second Demon Gun. Still, there might be hope one day, yet the duo had no idea...

"_Patty, Liz, everyone... I'm going for a swim... as soon as... AH!" Kid screamed as he saw something moving in the sand next to his pale, perfectly pedicured foot. The hot white sand began to move in small gestures, the minute molehill it created began to get larger and larger until eventually something appeared out from the sand._

_It was a small mollusc creature, that resembled a crab, yet it wasn't one you'd easily identify it as. It was hideous, it's legs on only one side of it's shell and completely unsymmetrical, making Kid feel queasy. "You... DISGUSTING THING OF NATURE! You must be removed from my presence! ARE YOU EVEN A CRAB?!"_

"_Kid calm down! Yeah it is a crab, look" Liz replied back to him, trying to rest his anxious nerves as she picked up the aquatic beast in the palms of her hands and moved it up to his Kid, who's face was one of horror and looked as if he was about to projectile vomit onto the poor thing. _

"_Yeah, Kid it's a crab..." Patty added as her eyes beamed onto the creature, stroking it's shell. "... It's a Blackeye Hermit crab, I read it in this book Maka gave me when she told me to study for the test on aquatic life with Stein before he dissected it, remember?" She added, and started at him, then back at Maka, a childish thumbs up made her eyes blink twice, questing to herself why she was being involved, Tsubaki sitting next to her giggling slightly, whilst Soul and Black Star were building giant sand castles enough to fit the whole gang in... Crona hid behind the two females sitting down, shaking at the sight of the crab, murmuring to himself that he didn't know how to deal with weird looking crabs. _

"_Liz just... get that thing away from me please before I dispose of it myself." _

"_Come on, Kid. Relax. It's just a crab-"_

"_Just a crab? JUST A CRAB!? Look at it! It's no where near symmetrical! I feel ill just looking at it." Kid snapped back, his hand placed over his mouth at the sight of the shell fish. _

"_Liz, I'll go put it over by the tide pools, give it to me please" She asked her sister, her bright eyes unable to refuse as Liz gently handed it over, being careful not to drop it._

"_Heh, I'm gonna call you Sebastian, like in The Little Mermaid films!" Patty exclaimed as she began walking over to the rocky isolated miniature oceans where all sorts of aquatic life lived. _

_Whispering ever so lowly she said to the crab as she got there "This is an order, Sebastian*... go have fun!" Kid noticed her crouching by one of the larger tide pools and placing the crab in there, it quickly moving from her hands out of slight fear and natural instinct. She looked so happy, in Kid's eyes, as he secretly smiled at the sight of her once again, despite the horrifying monster who's domain was a callous, hard and unattractive looking shell. _

_Running back to his position, he never took his eyes off her as he examined all inches of her from her soft golden hair, her round voluminous breasts, her curvy waist and tanned skin. To him, she was perfection. _

"_Kid? Anyone there? What are you staring at? Kid? Hello?" The Thompson sisters asked together in unison, Patty waving her hand in front of his face, yet his eyes wouldn't change their position. _

Suddenly, Kid's vision became blurry and distorted, turning grey and then black. The next thing he felt his eyelids opening, a small faint voice singing into his ear drum, the girlish voice giving him a reason to be there.

"Kid, come on, it's time for school! You don't wanna be late" Patty asked him, unaware that he was in her room from the start, her voice being the one why he woke, but it didn't matter that much to him because it was her. If it were Liz on the other hand, well things might not be as forgiving, but non the less he had to equalise them.

Patty was wearing her usual bed clothes, short pale pink satin looking pyjama bottoms with a matching spaghetti strapped satin looking pale pink top that had a sweet heart neck line and roushed ruffles along the two parts of the top where the two met in the middle. She looked like a model in a magazine came to life. She gave him her usual smile, and walked out of his room, her hands behind her back, her legs skipping as her hair bounced.

Sitting up in his bed, decreasing his clothes Kid let out a small yet painful sigh, saddened by the fact his dream was not real...


	18. Guilty Conscience

_Author's note – Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while! Just came back from my trip and had to sort everything out with college.. I have never seen so many Russian people in all my life... not that there's anything wrong with them but some were a little rude... okay shut up Brittanny before you cause another internet war..._

_Ooh just watched and read Fruits Basket for the first time, if anyone hasn't seen it before THEN DO IT'S SO AMAZING! *Insert random fan jumping around her room shouting "Kyo X Tohru forever!"*_

_* If you get the colours joke, brownie points and a cyber applause from me!_

_- The Pouting Horse_

**Chapter 18 – A Guilty Conscience**

_'Five quick breaths, then a long one. Repeat.'_ The boy with the wild untameable and blue hair repeated to himself, a second skin layered on him that consisted of pure sweat and water he occasionally poured over his head, the beads dripping from his skull, cooling down his face, yet the red puffy cheeks he fashioned could easily identify that his blood still boiled. His thick muscular legs wrapped themselves around a heavy looking metal bar which was supported by two even thicker wooden posts either side of it.

He was wearing himself out, his head began to pound from the red liquid in his body rushing to and fro his head quicker than it should normally have to. Idiot. He was going to get a _really_ bad migraine if he didn't stop it. The sad part about the whole drastic situation was that Black Star didn't know how to. He didn't know how to deal with anything in his current situation. When he heard the news on the phone from Maka, he couldn't think of anything else but the impact that shot him through the heart at that very moment.

He felt guilty. He felt so guilty. He tried to distract himself from his emotions, block any pain, remorse or positivity. But no matter what he did, even with all the blood pounding between his ears, the sound of the drums in his skull, the rhythm of his pulse in unison, he still thought of, well, his best friend, his best friend whom he'd known since he was 4.

No one planned it to be this way, no one planned what happened the day before Black Star attempted to block off anything in his life by almost killing himself.

He was sweating, and despite the rubber grip on the bar and his gloves giving him leverage, it fixated itself there, teasing all laws of science making his hands slip as the salty water began pouring up and down his face from lifting himself up, as if it was unsure as to what direction it's going.

A hand began to slip as the Assassin twiddled with his fingers trying to remove the sweat and re place his hand to get a better grip on the bar. Unfortunately he did not prevail as they teased the bar, slipping as if he were on the edge of a building in a really bad dramatic film called 'Man on a Ledge'. Losing his grip he could hear gentle footsteps approaching him, their breathing erased. "...Black Star?" A minute girlish voice sang to him, her vocal chords ringing in his ear.

Slip.

"Shit." Black Star said as his got himself up, his muscular arms flexed behind his shoulders, one holding him up and the other rubbing the back of his thick haired head where his skull impacted hard on the floor. "Black Star was that my fault? I'm sorry!" She replied to him, her face looking worried as she carried a bamboo tray holding various cylindrical cups and saucers and a steaming green tea pot. Staring at her with her apologetic face, he couldn't help but crack a small smile, masking his thumping head just so her could see her face light up again like it used to. "No you didn't do anything, my hand was already slipping" He replied back, glad he could see the reaction he wanted off of her. "Well I bought you in some tea if you wanted some, you know, since the phone call from this morning. It might help relax you-"

"I don't need to be relaxed Tsubaki" Black Star quickly snapped at her, lifting himself up, propelling himself in the air before his legs stomped on the floor, shaking his partner a little, the tea set rattling on the tray. That was the queue for the Japanese Angel to place it down on the table before she dropped it. "Well... it's always hear if you want it. I'm going to talk to Liz and Patty, see if they've been told about-"

"Can you just shut up for a second about that? Can you just say something else, something completely different from what's happened last night? Actually no, say nothing at all" He glared at her, her lips creasing into a thinner life as they flattened out. He turned around, wiped the sweat from the bar on a towel and the sweat from his hands onto his trousers before returning back to his ridiculous monkey-like position, his hands not on the bar but close to his temples letting only his abdomen lift himself up.

"Black Star you're going to pull something if you don't stop." She warned him, trying to forget his aggressive imperative. Blocking out her voice, he continued yet he knew he was straining himself. With his head still thumping and the blood rushing to it too quickly her began to see bright object in his eyes whenever he closed them, but unable to discard them. He felt like he was going to slip again, the liquid perspiring from the backs on his knees slid all over the bar and as he went to reach it with his hands to adjust himself without look. The stupid fool fell again and hit his head harder this time, his vision blurred and grew darker before it went black...

"_This is all your fault, you twat. You're the reason he's in there."_

"_You're the reason the place caught on fire."_

"_You're the reason why Soul would never want to see you again, and quiet frankly neither would Maka, Tsubaki or Kid and the sisters"_

"_You shouldn't even show your face in public again"_

"_How can you even look at Tsubaki after what you did to one of her best friends? You'll never be worth of her now. You weren't even in her league in the first place"_

"_You should just leave. Leave and never come back to Death City. No one would miss you. No one would care." Black Star could hear all the voices, their evil tones spat out words of hate and sounded demonic, twisted and dark. Each word, each cruel, cruel word sniggered and laughed darkly, a twisted comedic tone ran through the speech. _

_They were right of course, according to Black Star. They were right for once, instead of it being him. Why should he have to show his face? Why should he have to stay after what HE did? How could he ever look his best friend in the eyes, how could he even bare to look at him. _

_The thoughts ran through Black Star's subconscious, twiddling their way into his pea sized brain and making him believe things that weren't even true. Idiot. _

_He tried to run away from the voices, his legs were moving, but moving where? No where. He tried to run away from somewhere which he remained immobilised, frightened and clueless. "This is all my fault. I'm so sorry, Soul. I'm so so sorry. They're right... who ever they are... they're right. I... I should leave this place. They're more than right. I'll pack my things tonight, when Tsubaki... dammit Tsubaki! What is she gonna do when she find me missing! I... I don't know if she'd come with me though. I want her too, but... I hurt one of her best friends... fuck." Realising he was getting no where in the pitch black, he stopped running to attempt to poorly escape. That's when he heard the voice. Her voice..._

"_Black Star? Black Star? Where are you?" Tsubaki asked him, but as he looked around, only her vice was available to his eyes for her body was invisible. "You should go Black Star. You need to get out of here. Get away from all the voices and whispers. At that moment, just when her voice became faint whenever she spoke more, he could feel light taps against the side of his cheek, a gentle and soft hand caressed it. Her hand. He turned to see if she was there, to no prevail. "Black Star, it's time to wake up" She finalised before his surroundings consolidated him during that time his eyes blurred from 'darkness then redness then whiteness'*_

"Black Star wake up!" Tsubaki wailed at him as she tapped the side of his face before grabbing his dense shoulders and shaking him lightly. Of course she could shake him as hard as she could, but she would break the floor, and this was her best guy friend, and as annoying as he was at times and as much as she would want to break the floor with his head from his annoying voice, she still loved him in a best friend sort of way. The Camellia flower thought nothing romantic between the two of them. She was his Weapon and he her Meister.

"Tsu...baki" He finally said, a weak crushed sound came out of his mouth, and straight into the Japanese Angel's ears. Smiling once again, she released her smooth hands from his shoulders and placed one of them in the socket of his hand and the other at the top of his back, pulling him up from the oak flooring where his head rested and sat him up whilst the Assassin, still dazed in his mind re-adjusted to his familiar surroundings. "Black Star you fell again you... you BAKA!" she cried to him, her head nuzzled in his neck, salty tears dripping down her ivory cheeks.

"Why... why are you crying?" Black Star questioned as he repeated his head rubbing gesture, blinking every so often so his vision was clearer. He hated it when she cried, it made her helpless and a little pathetic but at the same time he had to comfort her which he hated even more. In truth - Black Star didn't know how to show compassion, empathy or any other comforting emotion since he never grew up with his parents to have an attachment to anyone. He did live with Lord Death at the Academy whilst Death the Kid was living with his mother after 'parental upbringing issues', but he didn't treat him like a son or anyone he could love...

"_You're not my son, I will not treat you like one. This way you will become strong and independent"_ Black Star never forgot his heart-breaking words that should never be told to a 3 year old child, a 3 year old child that's only started to learn how to talk, a 3 year old who had his parents devoured by the very #grim Reaper who addressed him...

"I'm...I'm crying because..." She replied back, sniffling every so often when she raised her head to wipe her snotty nose and watery sapphires. "...because you're acting like a complete arse Black Star! You're punishing yourself for something! I know you are! Why! Why do you have to act like a martyr all the time for things that you needn't be involved in! You're so stupid sometimes! If you keep doing those ridiculous stretches and pull-ups you're going to put yourself in fucking hospital!" His mouth dropped open, shocked and yet curious at the same time as to why she was so bothered about him, considering she's never been before hand. Was she showing compassion to him that may be requited? Nuzzling down into his neck again, her body jolting when she sniffled Black Star couldn't help but feel electrified by her touch even though she was in distress and it wouldn't be suitable for him to do anything rash at the moment.

"You wanna know why I do the things I do? You wanna know why after three yeas after something goes bad in my life I take it out on myself!? I don't know how to react Tsubaki. I don't know how to grief or show compassion. I don't know how to comfort people. I take it out on myself because it's the only way I can be distracted, it's the only thing that makes me feel less guilty about what's happened. When I'm distracted, the guilt is still there, believe me, but I can forget at times and unlike some people who can just forget about it and mask it with the pleasures they've had in life. Well I've never had any pleasures in life, I've never had a perfect upbringing with my... my parents and siblings crowded around me-"

"Black Star how dare you even-"

"I haven't finished talking! Just shut up" _'Calm down Black Star, don't upset her even more than she already is'_. "I've never had a family who's been there for me to give me memories. My strength is the only thing I have and now... now it's unstable, as you've seen. How do you think that makes me feel seeing my only strength as my downfall, my weakness. I can't forget what has happened by cloaking it with memories of the past. You just don't understand. I can't even show my face again. I can't even live here any more knowing that it was my fault he got... burned."

"Black Star... I... I didn't-" She replied back, whispering gently into his ear before she felt his sweat layered hands on her shoulders being weighed down to the floor as he got up. "-Tsubaki just don't talk to me. You wouldn't understand." And with that, he turned his head away from her, his face crumpled up, mouth slightly wobbling, eyes sneaking in water from his tear ducts and slowly walked away, leaving her to cry on the floor as he closed the door behind her and headed out into the night...


End file.
